What Chef Tara Thomas Wants You To Know

Restaurants, food, a playlist, and shopping recommendations from the NY-based chef.

By Megan O'Sullivan

Published

Texts With Friends is a monthly column that features... texts with friends.

Fun fact: One time I saw Tara Thomas post from Pho Bang on Mott Street, and now I eat at Pho Bang every Sunday night. When it comes to food, Tara is perhaps the person I trust most. She also happens to be stylish, warm, friendly, and wonderful. I first met Tara at an event in 2019, where she created a culinary experience that involved fresh mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and some other delicious, earthly ingredients I had never heard of before. Tara has been cooking forever, but for her, food is not just the stuff that keeps us alive. It's a conduit for community and memory making. As an urban farmer and founder of non-profit Breaking Bread, an organization that works with urban farms across Brooklyn to address food insecurity via food boxes and meals, Tara is undoubtably a multi-hyphenate. Here's some wisdom she recently bestowed upon me via text (links at the bottom :)).