San Francisco’s Reem Asil is a new kind of restauranteur, fusing her work as a chef with activism. She says food like manakeesh flatbreads she serves at her San Francisco restaurants help diners appreciate Palestinian culture and empathize with her people’s ongoing struggles. “Food became my love language and also my tool for change,” said Asil. She is one of many Palestinian American entrepreneurs in the Bay Area who have opened chains that became local favorites. If you take a 20-minute drive along South Van Ness Avenue, you can stop for a mint mojito coffee at Philz in Russian Hill, hit Ike’s Sandwiches eight minutes away in Cathedral Hill for a Super Mario meatball sandwich and then pop into Bi-Rite Market in the Mission for some olive oil and salted caramel ice cream.

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