Alison Roman, the Brooklyn-based cook and cookbook author (her latest, Something from Nothing, was published in November 2025), prefers eating small, idiosyncratic neighborhood restaurants over buzzy openings and viral spots. For her, a meal is as much about flavor as it is about atmosphere and whether she wants to support the people behind the place. She looks for quirky, independent kitchens with a clear point of view — the kinds of spots she wants to return to again and again.
This winter we shadowed Roman through Brooklyn to three of her all-time favorites. Each has a different hold on her: one is the reliable answer to “Where should we go tonight?,” another conjures the city she first arrived in, and a third she stumbled onto and now visits regularly. Below are the three restaurants she keeps going back to, and what she orders when she’s there.
Hart’s
Must-order: Clam toast
Hart’s is the neighborhood restaurant everyone hopes to find: versatile enough for a solo meal, a parent with kids, a date, or a group of friends. Its ever-changing, highly seasonal menu means you can come back often and keep discovering new dishes. The cooking leans vegetable-forward and relatively light — the sort of restrained, thoughtful approach Roman imagines for her own restaurant cooking. Her go-to here is the clam toast: little clams braised in white wine with garlic and chile, brightened with parsley and ladled over thick, crusty garlic-rubbed bread. Celery in the mix gives it a familiar, stuffing-like comfort that keeps her coming back.
Di and Di
Must-order: Pho and a spread of starters
Roman worships Vietnamese food for its herb-forward lift and the way it treats fish and meats. Di and Di was one of the Greenpoint spots that first felt like that to her: not strictly bound by tradition, but willing to take smart creative risks and pair classic, lesser-known plates with fresh interpretations. When she’s alone she often orders the pho — generous, soulful, and straightforward. With company she leans into the starters, sampling grilled skewers meant to be wrapped in lettuce with herbs and dipping sauce, and whatever small plates look most intriguing.
Tera Mera
Must-order: Samosas and the goat
Tera Mera is a compact, woman-run neighborhood place serving homestyle cooking in a warm room with attentive service. Roman applauds their use of goat, a meat she thinks is underappreciated in the U.S., and she orders the samosas and momos as well. The menu is inclusive for vegetarians and people with dietary restrictions — Roman’s own gluten-free, vegetarian mother-in-law enjoys the food there and never feels left out. Roman discovered Tera Mera simply by walking past and deciding to try it without consulting reviews or waiting in line — a reminder that wandering your neighborhood can yield the kinds of small, beloved places that become staples.