"In Long Beach, California, there’s the Vietnamese café Sesame Dinette, and in Manhattan, there’s a pasta bar called Nonna Dora’s. It’s a hopeful development, after a pandemic that ravaged so many long-standing family-run spots. These restaurants are the outcome of families coming together to cook their food and share it with others. Judy Mai Nguyen, a 73-year-old chef with decades of experience under her belt, opened Sesame Dinette in April with the help of her daughter Linda Sivrican and granddaughter Kiera Sivrican. Nguyen is an expert in bánh mì and makes all of her pork cold cuts in-house." - ByEmily Wilson