In the heart of Watts, where the sun bakes the sidewalk and sounds of laughter, Spanish rock, and hip-hop blend with the daily hustle of life, there is an unassuming house behind red drapes on Grape Street. Its front yard is home to Mid East Eats (MEE).
On that lawn, a recipe of chickpeas, herbs, and spices is fried into perfect golden falafel, a dish that has been passed down through generations of resistance, and just one of nineteen meatless menu items that offer a taste of historic Palestine in Watts.
Inside, Mid East Eats is lively and colorful, decorated with cultural art, and a painting of two people wearing keffiyehs at the door. Sumer Durke, the founder of MEE, was born in Maryland to Palestinian parents.
Like most Palestinians, resistance comes in many forms to let the world know that her people are still here.
“They can burn our villages, but they cannot burn or get rid of our culture,” said Sumer.
Food As Resistance
Over a year ago, Sumer and her husband, Andy, decided to turn their lovely home into a community-permitted home restaurant.
“I was working in the construction industry for a wealthy Zionist, and after the October 7th [attacks] … everything changed,” said Sumer.
Navigating a new world where her Palestinian identity threatened her boss and future work, Sumer decided to pursue her passion for cooking Palestinian dishes. History shows us that indigenous foods and cultural practices associated with cooking them are often destroyed to force people to assimilate into the “norm.”
“This is my form of resistance, and keeping my future alive,” Sumer added.
Mid East Eats initially launched on June 1st, 2024, operating as a pop-up while simultaneously working on transforming its space into a permitted home restaurant in L.A.
It will hold its official grand re-opening on July 12th, with a new menu that will also include meat dishes.
To the owners’ surprise, collaborating with city officials and inspectors was easy, likely owing to recent changes in the Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKO) that make it easier to get a permit to operate a home restaurant.
“The city is pushing for more home restaurants,” said Andy. “The inspector and the department were super helpful, and it felt like they wanted people to pass.”
Five months later, Sumer and Andy’s house became an officially permitted home restaurant. A rare one specializing in a broad array of Palestinian dishes.
Located in Watts, Sumer cooks to survive, remember, and resist, aiming to introduce people to her ancestral foods, with an L.A. twist. Together, she and her husband have become experts at serving falafel in one of L.A.’s most historic neighborhoods.
Her inspiration to focus on falafels comes from her time living in Palestine, where her family traces their roots to Jifna, a village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate in the West Bank, just fourteen miles north of Jerusalem.
“In my father’s childhood village, there was an older gentleman who would sell freshly fried, herby falafel from his garage,” said Sumer. “They were delicious—moist on the inside, with a crunchy exterior, and he would sprinkle them with a touch of salt after frying them. And the village aunties taught me a lot about cooking.”
Sitting on her couch, reminiscing about her time in her homeland, she told each story with passion and anger as she detailed her childhood. Every story featured a common thread that most Palestinians experienced in the late 80s: going through checkpoints.
MEE's specialty is falafel plates, but the menu also includes falafel in pitas, rice bowls, salad bowls, and nachos. You can also order dishes like creamy, sumac-spiced hummus, refreshing tabbouleh, and lesser-known favorites such as ful (a savory fava bean dip), fatayer (baked savory dishes), and manoushe. But the flavor journey does not end there.
“We just added tacos and people love them,” said Sumer, about her falafel tacos, served on corn tortillas with cilantro-lime hummus, pickled cabbage, toum, and jalapeño sauce. MEE is also giving them away free with an RSVP to the grand-re-opening.
On their website, you can access the restaurant’s pop-up menu and order for pick-up using the Cash Drop application, which provides its weekly hours.
Community Support
Sumer and Andy’s home has become a central gathering place for activists and community organizers. Since October 7th, there have been more marches for the Palestinian cause across L.A. than ever before. As a result, MEE has opened its doors and allows people to use their space to organize meetings.
“We had received a lot of support from activists and the community, and we love that,” said Sumer.
She welcomes everyone–from those supporting the Palestinian cause to those backing the immigrant rights movement that is currently working to push ICE out of this city–to come try her dishes and hang out in her front yard with refreshing tabbouleh and falafel.
“You are welcomed here, this is for you,” said Sumer.
Mid East Eats ~ 9613 Grape St. Los Angeles, CA 90002
