Cuisine of Michoacan: Carnitas and Cabernet please...

Fundraiser to benefit AltaMed's mission to provide access to quality health care in underserved communities.

LOS ANGELES, CA -- AltaMed hosted the sixth annual East LA Meets Napa, one of the nation's most unique festivals that celebrates the Latino community's contributions to California's multi-billion dollar food and wine industry. The event pairs Latino- owned or operated wineries from the Napa Valley with Latino-owned or operated restaurants from the greater Los Angeles area.

The event was attended by more than 1,400 wine and culinary enthusiasts who enjoyed 60 plus pairing stations and live music by Jose Rizo's Mongorama. This year's event featured the flavors of Michoacan, considered by some to be Mexico's soul food.

"We are proud to showcase the regional cuisine of Michoacan, which played a major role in UNESCO's decision to place Mexican cuisine on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2010," said Castulo de la Rocha, AltaMed's President and CEO. "In addition many of our event's vintners hail from the state."

The event also launched AltaMed's publication In Their Own Words, which chronicles Latino's contributions to the U.S. wine industry. The book features the stories of 17 wine makers from the Napa Valley, some of whom began their careers as farm workers and have gone on to own or operate important wineries. Copies of the book were made available at the event and can be purchased at https://donate.altamed.org/book.

President and CEO Castulo de la Rocha's passion for good Latin Cuisine and fine wine inspired AltaMed's East LA Meets Napa, which has become an event that truly showcases the variety that exists within Latino gastronomy and viticulture. "We are proud that East LA Meets Napa has evolved into one of the most popular food events in Southern California," said de la Rocha, "we owe a great deal of thanks to our sponsors particularly Ken Jackson of Camfield Partners who was our Title Sponsor this year." Other sponsors included Richard Gomez of Total Corporate Solutions, Jack Cline Jr. of Lee & Associates, Ricardo Robles of La Reina, Hector Barreto of Barreto Rezinas (who will debut Tributo A Mi Padre a new tequila) and Robin and Jaime Guentert of Trader Joe's.

In addition, wineries, restaurants and chefs who donated their talent and fare included Alex Sotelo Cellars, Ceja Vineyards, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wine, Sequoia Grove Vineyards, Madrigal Vineyards, Robledo Family Winery Inc., Quintessa, Bodegas San Rafael, Cavas Valmar, and Vinisterra Winery, Chef Hugo Molina of Seta, Chef Daniel Salcido of Cities, Chef Alfonso Ramirez of Luna Restaurant and Lounge, Chef John Rivera Sedlar of Rivera Restaurant, Chef Jim Shaw of Loteria Grill, and new to this year's event Chef Robert Luna of Mas Malo, and Annette Starbuck of The Goodie Girls and winner of The Food Network show "Cupcake Wars".

All proceeds from the event benefit AltaMed, which provides critical services including primary medical care, dental clinics, comprehensive senior services, disease management programs, health education, youth programs, HIV/AIDS care, and substance abuse prevention and treatment.

AltaMed, a private nonprofit organization, is a major provider of health and human services in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. AltaMed is the largest Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in the State of California. The mission of AltaMed is to eliminate disparities in health care access and outcomes by providing superior quality health and human services through an integrated world-class delivery system for Latino, multi-ethnic and underserved communities. AltaMed began as the East Los Angeles Barrio Free Clinic in 1969, a volunteer-staffed storefront providing basic medical services. Currently, AltaMed provides more than 650,000 patient visits annually through its 43 sites in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

SOURCE AltaMed

Mexican restaurant takes food to new level

New Mexican restaurant filled with food and flair
By George L. Saldana, Latino Journal Critic

Tres Hermanas has been a long-standing staple for Mexican cuisine in the downtown Sacramento area. Today they expanded that tradition of excellent food, and warmly sociable atmosphere to Del Paso Boulevard with the opening of a new restaurant, Three Sisters.

Located at 2215 Del Paso Blvd. in Sacramento, the third Tres Hermanas, or Three Sisters in English, is tucked away between abandoned stores, pawnshops and a Mexican bakery, which makes rather easy to miss. Once inside, however, the restaurant interior captivated me. With personal booths that were more like tucked away rooms than a sort of cubicle as some restaurants have done. There’s even occasional music played during the dinner hour.

The rest of the restaurant is very open with varying themes based on where you sit. By the window is a sort of an indoor patio with artificial vines dressed along the wooden structure that go over the seating. In the middle, there is seating under a painted sky and in front of a very large fireplace. Through another opening, which serves as a second entrance as well, is the bar, away from the dining area for those who wished to just socialize or have their cocktail with appetizers.

Well I’ve spent so much time talking about the looks; I have yet to speak of the most important thing, the food and service.

As it was an opening day, there were a few glitches to the new restaurant. For example, the staff had some troubles finding their way around and discerning the menus from one another, but they were still patient and very friendly.

The chips were fresh and crispy, though the salsa was really good, but needed less water. In all, it was about a fifteen-minute wait for the food and when it arrived, everything came in fresh and hot. I ordered the milanesa (chicken-fried steak), which was served in three thin pieces, with seasoned rice and beans. On each piece were a slice of tomato and a slice of avocado. The meat was tender, extremely flavorful, and definitely plentiful. Leftovers anyone?

It wasn’t until later on that I found out that I ordered from the dinner menu, but I did not mind. The service was ideal for the lunch hour and the place and people very welcoming. Rarely do we find an environment this relaxed in a restaurant, especially with an interior as beautiful as the food it houses. When you have time and the chance I highly recommend giving this new sisters restaurant a chance. Yummy.