An Afternoon at Finca Tres Robles
This Sunday, May 15, RDA members, guests, and five local experts gathered for a tour and tasting at urban farm Finca Tres Robles in Houston’s East End. There to experience what writer Michael Pollan calls the particularities of a place, guests arrived in the late afternoon just as a light rain began to fall. They mingled and enjoyed cheese and bread donated by Houston Dairymaids, wine donated by Terlato Wines, beer donated by 8th Wonder Brewery, and a special cocktail from Chef Monica Pope.
Brothers and Finca Tres Robles founders Thomas Garcia-Prats and Daniel Garcia-Prats, who opened the 1.25-acre farm in 2014, led guests on tours through the robust rows of organic produce. Then, as umbrellas came out, guests sat side by side at one long table to enjoy Pope’s meal, which incorporated fresh produce from the farm that had been harvested earlier that week.
Experts were on hand at the long table to discuss issues of sustainability and Houston’s culinary scene, including Andrew Albers, professor at The Rice School of Architecture and architect with The Office of James Burnett; Karen Lantz, sustainable lifestyle architect with Lantz Full Circle; Katharine Shilcutt, writer and editor with Houstonia; Scott Snodgrass, founder of Edible Earth Resources; and Becca Verm, urban farmer with Sown & Grown.
For more information, visit the farm’s website. You can buy Finca Tres Robles and Sown & Grown produce weekly at the East End Street Market, which takes place Sundays on the Navigation Esplanade from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.