Catherine Smart knows good food.  She’s the co-founder and CEO of local food startup not just co.; she joins TFL’s Molly Ford as co-host on The Food Lens Podcast; she’s developed recipes and reviewed restaurants for The Boston Globe and WGBH and she reports for radio and TV at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street.  That’s why we trust her when she says she’s found a hidden gem. Case in point: Her favorite food memory involves trying to overcome a language barrier with the owner of a Tewksbury Sichuan restaurant over a bowl of dan dan noodles. And her favorite Boston restaurant is her neighborhood hangout, Highland Kitchen. “It’s like a favorite pair of jeans,” she says. “So comfortable and always makes you feel great.”

Somerville has been Catherine’s home for the past decade, and you’re most likely to find her eating donuts or chasing around her toddler Jack in Union Square. But the New England native also loves traveling, particularly exploring New Hampshire and the Maine coast, discovering hidden food gems along the way. “Food is always the best entry point,” she says. “It cuts to the heart of people, and it can tell you so much about a place.”