Because This Is What Community Looks Like
Welcome to the Community Series.
These are the stories of the people and places that make our communities special, told through their own voices and perspectives. With this ongoing series, we want to celebrate these incredible locals and restaurants across the country, and around the world.
Why? Because if there’s anything the past year has taught us, it’s that our communities matter. They are essential. They’re what keeps us whole, both in good times and the not-so-good times. They change over time, and what we do (or don’t do) has an impact on them.
At the very heart of these communities are people who are effecting positive change. They are folks like chef and activist Tiffany Carter in San Francisco, fighting for spatial justice for the Black community in San Francisco. In the Twin Cities, chef Yia Vang is educating others about Hmong food and culture in an effort to preserve both. Food historian Adrian Miller is ensuring that African Americans aren’t written out of the American barbecue tradition they built. And in Long Beach, Calif., James Tir, a second-generation Cambodian American, wants to set the record straight about his community, and the resilience it has shown all these years.
We hope that by reading their stories, you’ll get a better understanding of their unique perspectives and experiences, and that you’ll eventually want to immerse yourselves into their communities, too. And we can think of no better way to start that than by going to the restaurants they’ve recommended — the third spaces that are the very cornerstones and anchors of their communities. These are the places where their stories come alive over a shared meal.
We also know there are so many stories still left to be told, and so many meals waiting to be enjoyed. This is in no way a finished project. Every month, we will continue to spotlight new stories and new communities, and we could use your help.
So, if you know of an incredible changemaker, or someone making a difference in their community, please let us know. We would love to hear their story, and to make sure that others do, too.
Project Credits
Project Editors: Deanna Ting and Noëmie Carrant
Staff Writers/ Editors: Noëmie Carrant, David Paw, Deanna Ting
Contributors: Lenore T. Adkins, Vickie An, Marcelle G Afram, Steven Alvarez, Tiffany Carter, Debbie Chen, Pao Houa Her, Ben Hon, Wonho Frank Lee, Erin Ng, Chandra Ram, Jaclyn Rivas, Cliff Rome, Mursal Saiq, Josefina Schargorodsky, Farrah Skeiky, James Tir, Yia Vang, Jessica Wang
Photo/Art/Design: Tania Bou Samra
Managing Editor: Jon Bonné
Editorial Director: Paolo Lucchesi
Community Series Illustrations and Logo: Luis Mendo
See all of our Community Series stories
Resy Presents
The Community Series
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‘We Are Still Here’: On Standing Up for San Francisco’s Black Community
Chef and San Francisco native Tiffany Carter on fighting to preserve African American culture, and her guide to eating your way through her hometown. -
On the Resilience of Long Beach’s Cambodian American Community
Cambodian American food content creator James Tir on a community that’s struggled through genocide, racism, and poverty, but is also so resilient despite it all. -
Hmong Food Isn’t a Cuisine. It’s a Philosophy.
Hmong American chef Yia Vang on his long journey to open one of the first Hmong restaurants not just in Minnesota, but in the whole country. -
On American Barbecue and the Black Community That Built It
Food historian Adrian Miller doesn’t remember how old he was when he started craving his mother’s barbecued pork spareribs. But he knows it was love at first bite. -
Chicago’s South Side Is the Future, and I Want to Be a Part of It
Chicago native and chef Cliff Rome pens a love letter to the neighborhood he calls home, and his hopes for its future. -
New York Has Incredible Mexican Food. Here’s Where to Find It.
Taco Literacy professor Steven Alvarez gives us his personal tour of some of the city’s best Mexican restaurants, and the stories behind the people who run them.
