“I love New York, and I love the restaurants here—especially the small, weird ones,” says Alison Roman. The Brooklyn-based cook and cookbook author—her latest, Something from Nothing, came out November 2025—is always eating her way through the city. But she isn’t chasing the most hyped TikTok spots or the clubby Manhattan openings. “Going to a restaurant, for me, is about whether the food tastes good, of course, but also the feeling and the vibe and, like, Do I want to support that business?” Roman says. “What New York really needs are the quirky, homespun, independently owned, hyper-specific places with a point of view. That’s how I want to eat.”
This winter, we followed Alison around Brooklyn, stopping at three of her all-time favorite places. “Restaurants are very personal and nostalgic for me,” she notes. One she found by chance and now returns to regularly; another reminds her of when she first moved to New York; a third is simply the perfect answer to the eternal question: Where should we go tonight?
Below, Roman shares her three favorite Brooklyn spots and what to order at each.
Hart’s
Must-order: Clam toast
Hart’s is a quintessential neighborhood restaurant—good for parents, dates, friends, or when you’re alone. It’s often the answer to “Where should we go tonight?” and increasingly rare in that way. The menu changes constantly and is highly seasonal: you can go once a week and always have something different. The cooking is vegetable- and protein-forward, fairly light—how Roman imagines she’d cook in a restaurant. One thing they almost always have is the clam toast: clams in white wine with garlic and chili finished with parsley, poured over thick, crusty bread rubbed with garlic. Celery in the dish gives it a stuffing-like familiarity—soaked bread, butter, celery, and garlic—which is part of why she loves it.
Di and Di
Must-order: Pho and everything on the starters menu
Roman loves Vietnamese food for its herbs and the way meat and fish are cooked. Di and Di was one of the first Greenpoint restaurants she discovered that felt like that cooking. It’s not strictly traditional; they take creative chances and mix lesser-known classic dishes with inventive interpretations. If she’s alone, Roman will get pho—the portions are generous and delicious—and maybe a grilled meat skewer to wrap in lettuce and herbs with dipping sauce. With others, she leans heavily on the starters, which she finds the most interesting offerings on the menu.
Tera Mera
Must-order: Samosas, the goat
Tera Mera is a small, independently owned neighborhood restaurant run by two women, serving their version of home cooking in a warm, inviting space with great service. Roman loves the goat—an underused meat in America—and also the samosas and momos. It’s welcoming to vegetarians and those with dietary restrictions; her mother-in-law, who is gluten-free and vegetarian, enjoys everything there and never feels excluded. Roman discovered the place by walking past and deciding to try it without reading reviews or waiting in line—a reminder that wandering your neighborhood can lead to wonderful finds that become favorites.
