If you’re in the mood for fabulous food and interesting conversation then please join me at the Homegirl Café on Monday, July 19. I’m hosting a Tweetup with Reclaim LA to help get more people talking about Homeboy Industries.
Homeboy’s gang intervention and job training programs have helped keep thousands of youths off the streets and out of gangs. It was started in the late 80s by Father Greg Boyle who still runs the organization and wrote about it in his LA Times Bestseller “Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion.” The organization ran into financial trouble after moving into a new facility. That combined with the worst financial crisis since the great depression has resulted in hundreds of layoffs. Many have stayed on as volunteers and some have been hired back thanks to some generous donations. But they are still in need of a great amount of help. Here is the post I wrote for LA Moms blog about it.
Homegirl Café is a part of the new facility, but it is self sustaining and run by former gang members. The food is unbelievable.
I tried out the café on Friday with my friend and public relations superstar Karie Reynolds and we had a very tasty lunch. I had two of the best tacos of my life and I’ve eaten a lot of tacos, let me tell you.
The carnitas were cooked perfectly, tender and full of flavor. They were topped with apple shavings and came on two soft corn tortillas. I liked the carne asada, but I was blown away with the green mole taco. I’ve never had green mole I liked before, but I will definitely be having this taco again on Monday. I washed my tacos down with a Spinach and Mint Limeade. That combination may sound odd, but it was delightful. It tasted like a Mojito except instead of rum it had spinach so I could drive myself home.
I hope to see you on Monday at the Café. Please RSVP here or just show up and say hello. If you don’t know what a Tweetup is, it’s where individuals on Twitter send out messages announcing that they are meeting up at a certain place and time. It’s a way for people who mostly communicate on Twitter or other social networking sites to get together. I totally get it if a Tweetup is not your thing, you can still join us for lunch without logging onto Twitter.
And don’t forget to buy your copy of “Tattoos on the Heart.” All proceeds benefit Homeboy Industries.
I’m going to host a book club on YvonneinLA. Let me know if you bought the book and are planning to write about it. I’ll either publish the post here or link to your blog. I would love to hear what you think of it.