San Francisco’s Reem Assil is a new kind of restaurateur, fusing her work as a chef with activism. She says foods like manakeesh flatbreads she serves at her San Francisco restaurants help diners appreciate Palestinian culture and empathize with her people’s ongoing struggles. “I’m part of a new wave,” said Assil, who is easily the Bay Area’s most high-profile Palestinian American food entrepreneur. But she’s not the only one.
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. But here’s something you probably didn’t know these beloved Bay Area chains have in common: they were all founded by Palestinian Americans.
