Step inside 8 private L.A. homes serving remarkable dining experiences
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Known as MEHKOs, microenterprise home kitchen operations come in many shapes and sizes. They are coffee shops, barbecue joints, supper clubs, backyard tea parties, pickup-only pizzerias and everything in between. For some of these operators, it’s a passion project, and for others, it’s their only source of income.
MEHKOs were first legalized by state lawmakers in 2019, spurred by advocacy from nonprofit organization the COOK Alliance. Riverside County was the first in the state to adopt the program in 2019. MEHKOs were greenlighted in L.A. County in May 2024, and since then over 400 licenses have been approved. While informal backyard restaurants are nothing new in L.A., the program offers a legal, health-department-approved pathway for many existing home kitchens to thrive.
MEHKOs can only sell up to 30 meals per day and no more than 90 meals per week. They’re also not allowed to advertise with signs on their homes or front lawns. And unlike commercial restaurants, where line cooks will often prep ingredients for the rest of the week, MEHKOs can only serve food that was prepared the same day.
“A home kitchen is not designed or required to have the same commercial infrastructure, such as ventilation systems, grease interceptors, specialized wastewater systems,” said James Dragan, who oversees initiatives including the MEHKO program at the L.A. County Department of Public Health. “The limits are important because of the food safety perspective.”
The closure of Dotoree highlights some of the unique challenges that L.A.’s growing scene of microenterprise home kitchens may experience. In this case, more business isn’t always better.
When dining at a MEHKO, be flexible. It might not be as easy as just placing an order. These home businesses are often open just a few days per week with limited hours, and might only accept orders placed in advance. For example, Palestinian home kitchen Mid East Eats — one of L.A.’s first MEHKOs — currently only offers private dinners and monthly supper clubs. It was previously open for walk-ins with a larger menu, but the format was difficult to sustain and would often create food waste.
“I want to continue doing my private dinners because that’s my favorite thing to do,” said Mid East Eats founder Sumer Durkee. “It’s satisfying to me and feels like home, and people leave feeling so happy.”
MEHKOs can serve as a relatively low-cost stepping stone toward opening a brick-and-mortar and offer one-of-a-kind food experiences, even in a city with as rich a culinary vocabulary as L.A. These eight home kitchens, all of which offer dine-in service, are a great starting place to discover the city’s burgeoning MEHKO scene.
Asados To Go
The asado mix box ($25-$120) comes in four different sizes — the personal size ($35) can feed two to three people, and the mini ($25) is plenty for one — and is served with guacamole and red salsa. The boxes are filled with picada, the shareable Colombian dish that includes a pile of beef and pork asado, plantains, potato chunks, pineapple and arepas. My favorite component is the blood sausage, also known as morcilla — it’s snappy on the outside, and filled with moist, herbaceous fluffy rice. Asados To Go is available for pickup or dine-in on Fridays from 3 to 8 p.m. and weekends from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Orders can be placed in person or over the phone.
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Chez Fatoumata
All of these influences are present in her cooking, which takes on Afro-Caribbean and West African flavors: The egg rolls ($16), crispy puff pastry filled with wildly flavorful ground lamb, peas and carrots, are served with bright citrus herb and sweet tamarind sauces. The sauces also pair well with the fataya ($8), an empanada-like street food filled with shredded chicken that Diallo seasons with cinnamon, coriander and more a la North African tagine. You can’t go wrong with either of the lamb shank ($35) or jerk branzino ($30) entrees, which are served with plantains and jollof rice. Chez Fatoumata is open for pickup or dine-in reservations Wednesday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m.
Gancia’s Craft Kitchen
Complimentary coffee, orange juice and soft drinks are offered inside the house, set up on tables with mismatched mugs and pebbled tumblers that mimic the charming idiosyncrasies of an old-school coffee shop. There’s a great breakfast sandwich ($8.75) with the same homemade sausage on a biscuit, avocado toast ($12.75) on nutty sourdough from local home bakery Native Hill Baking and, of course, burritos big enough for two people. Gancia’s Craft Kitchen is open for pickup or dine-in Friday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Granada
Lomo Fuego
Popcorn lovers will enjoy munching on cancha, a traditional snack of crunchy fried Andean corn kernels, before the meal starts. It’s also served on top of Lomo Fuego’s ceviche ($17), which comes with slices of lightly cured fish, choclo (large Andean corn, like hominy) and a few slices of sweet potato. Other staples on the menu include the ají de pollo ($17), shredded chicken stewed in ají amarillo — and the seco de res ($17), a rich beef stew that features a traditional cilantro-beer sauce. Make sure to squeeze some complimentary ají verde and ají de rocoto on pretty much everything. Lomo Fuego is open for dine-in on weekends from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Mid East Eats
Durkee, alongside her husband Andy and fellow chef Heidi Alsangak, serves up homemade hummus and labneh topped with za’atar and olive oil from the Palestinian territories. The sumac-coated chicken is tender, served with fresh taboon bread — together, they make musakhan, Palestinians’ national dish — and pairs well with Andy’s jalapeño relish. Dinner typically finishes with a family-size pot of maqlubeh: fluffy rice with layers of tender leg of lamb, potato and cauliflower, all brimming with cumin, coriander and cinnamon. It tastes even better reheated the next day.
Durkee donates 20% of sales from all dinners, pop-ups and monthly supper clubs directly to families in Gaza. Reservations are required, and the price is fixed depending on party size.
Table for 6
Table for 6 rotates its menu seasonally and occasionally does brunch, where Grimm’s Southern roots shine in biscuits and gravy with homemade sausage. Once you’ve confirmed your reservation, Wu will email you the address, parking instructions and a sneak peek at the day’s menu. Brunch and tea parties are held on Saturdays for $75 per person.
Village Gate
Obienu was born and raised in South L.A. — but her husband is Nigerian, and so is the food at Village Gate. Ahead of opening last October, Obienu’s husband converted his home office into a dining space, where customers now sit at one of three tables and can play board games while waiting for food. Their four kids help out with the business, taking phone orders, posting on social media and bringing the food out while Obienu cooks in the back. Her akara ($12) — deep-fried, slightly spicy fritters of black-eyed peas — comes crispy on the edges and fluffy on the inside. Entrees at Village Gate can easily feed two people: The egusi ($18), a staple West African stew of ground melon seeds, is mixed with collard greens and served with fresh fufu and a bowl of water for you to clean your hands. Don’t miss the jollof rice ($16) or the chicken ($10), which is covered in a flavorful tomato-based stew and served with sweet plantains. Village Gate is open for dine-in or pickup Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Orders can be placed in person or over the phone.
