To Dine For with Kate Sullivan

KATE SULLIVAN: It may be a stormy day in Houston, Texas.

But I am heading into a restaurant to meet a trailblazing actress and entrepreneur who brings her own weather wherever she goes.

KATE: It's wonderful to meet you.

EVA: Hi, how are you?

KATE: Eva Longoria is taking me to her favorite restaurant to eat what she loves and to find out why she loves it.

EVA: Has your life been changed?

KATE: I'm speechless.

EVA: My last meal on this earth will be Tex-Mex food.

(Kate laughs) KATE: We're hearing her journey from actress, to entrepreneur to philanthropist.

EVA: I have no problem outworking anybody in the room.

And if you need me to show you that, I'm gonna show you that.

You want to underestimate me?

Great, I love it.

KATE: And then, we're hearing her how journey to Hollywood turned into a powerful purpose.

EVA: I'm really wanted to focus on women of the Latina community, because we are really the CEOs of the household.

KATE: And why her passion for uplifting women gets stronger with every project she takes on.

EVA: Everything I do has to say something, move culture forward, expose you to ideas you didn't know existed, change your mind about something, or start a conversation about something.

KATE: What's better in life than a bottle of wine, great food, and an amazing conversation?

My name is Kate Sullivan, and I am the host of To Dine For .

I'm a journalist, a foodie, and traveler with an appetite for the stories of people who are hungry for more: dreamers, visionaries, artists: those who hustle hard in the direction they love.

I travel with them to their favorite restaurant to hear how they did it.

This show is a toast to them and their American Dream.

To Dine For with Kate Sullivan is made possible by... (Music and chatter) MAN: During the weekends, we do like a grill.

(Clatter of chess board) MAN #2: You know you have bragging rights in the hood.

I'm like, "My guy won the game."

(Clatter of chess piece and men yelling and cheering) FEMALE ANNOUNCER: At American National, we honor the "do"-ers and the dreamers: The people who gets things done and keep the world moving.

Our local agents are honored to serve your community, because it's their community, too.

American National.

KATE: Hello everyone.

Today, I'm in Houston, Texas, on my way into El Tiempo Cantina: the original Tex-Mex restaurant.

This place is credited with bringing fajitas to the U.S.

The person who chose this as their favorite restaurant is a visionary, a philanthropist, and one of the most famous Latina actresses of our time.

I can't wait for you to meet, Eva Longoria.

EVA: Hi!

KATE: How are you?

EVA: It smells good already, I'm starving.

(Kate laughs) KATE: I am so hungry.

It's wonderful to meet you.

EVA: Hi.

How are you?

KATE: What an entrance.

With all this rain?

EVA: I know.

I feel like every time I come to Houston it's raining.

I'm like "is it me?"

(Kate laughs) KATE: From large-scale family portraits, to the overwhelming aroma of delicious Tex-Mex cuisine, to the incredibly festive vibe.

El Tiempo Cantina offers a most vibrant welcome that is also an instant homage to its legendary past.

DOMINIC LAURENZO: We love what we do and so that all come from Mama Ninfa.

KATE: Mama Ninfa is Ninfa Rodriguez Lorenzo, a Mexican American from the Rio Grande Valley, who settled in Houston in 1949 with her Italian-American husband Dominic Lorenzo.

Together, they ran a tortilla factory, selling tortillas and pizza dough throughout Houston.

DOMINIC: In 1969, when my grandfather suddenly passed away, he left my grandmother widowed with five children and that's where her story ultimately begins.

KATE: And what a story it is.

Mama Ninfa struggled to maintain the tortilla factory and instead took a big leap and opened a small restaurant.

Her menu featured the then - emerging flavors of Tex-Mex, starting with swapping traditional Mexican corn tortillas for homemade flour tortillas.

DOMINIC: The use of chili powder is exclusively Tex-Mex.

Flautas, chimichangas, the crispy tacos with the picadillo, Texas red chilli is completely Tex-Mex.

Then, my grandmother introduced chicken and beef fajitas.

KATE: That's right.

Mama Ninfa is widely credited for bringing the now ubiquitous sizzling-hot fajitas into culinary consciousness.

With this new dish, Ninfa's restaurant took off.

From politicians, to celebrities, to neighborhood locals, everyone clamored to eat at Ninfa's.

And by the mid 1980s, beloved Mama Ninfa, a mother with five children in tow, had built a Tex-Mex restaurant empire that sprawled throughout Houston.

DOMINIC: She was a trendsetter, an amazing business woman, which back in the day was something unique.

Hispanic business woman.

So, she broke a lot of barriers.

She's my hero and I love to say that I continue to carry her torch.

KATE: Today, we toast to Mama Ninfa as we indulge in some of her specialties.

Starting with fresh guacamole with homemade tortilla chips, followed by El Tiempo's famous queso flameados, melted Monterey jack cheese and fajita filet wrapped table-side in a soft tortilla.

And then, the show-stopping fajitas, chili-seasoned chicken and beef filet with sauted vegetables served with pico de gallo and avocado crema, all rolled in homemade tortillas.

And we kick it all off with a perfectly mixed tequila cocktail.

KATE: This is a Mexican Kiss I believe.

EVA: The Mexican Kiss!

This is my favorite.

The kiss.

Salud!

KATE: Cheers to you!

EVA: S!

Bienvenido a Texas.

KATE: Thank you for being here!

Yes.

It is the perfect place to sit down with another strong Latina trailblazer who leans heavily on her roots while building a vibrant legacy all her own.

KATE: I am thrilled to be at El Tiempo Cantina, and I understand that in Spanish "el tiempo" means both time and the weather.

EVA: Yes!

KATE: So, I thought, like, this is very fitting... EVA: Appropriate... KATE ...given all the rain today.

EVA: I know.

Thanks for being here and coming here.

This is one of my favorite places in Houston.

You know I've been here many times, I love the Laurenzo family.

I love Tex-Mex.

I love Tex-Mex!

My last meal on this earth will be Tex-Mex food.

(Kate laughs) It will probably be cheese enchilandas.

(Both laugh) KATE: You grew up in Corpus Christi, the youngest of four girls.

EVA: Yeah.

KATE: What was that like?

What was your childhood like and how did it shape you?

EVA: Amazing!

I loved my childhood.

I am the baby of four girls, so I was definitely spoiled with love and attention.

Not things!

We didn't have a lot of money, but with love and attention for sure, I was spoiled.

But I was also the black sheep of the family.

My sisters look like you.

They were... KATE: Really.

EVA: ...blonde hair, they have really light eyes, they're very fair skin.

And then I came out: dark hair, dark eyes, dark skin.

My sisters were beautiful.

They were just... People would come up to my mom and say, "Your daughters are beautiful.

And, who's this?"

And I would be like... KATE: Hey!

EVA: "Hey, I'm one of the Longorias!"

KATE: Eva's parents, Enrique, a rancher, and Ella, a full time teacher, modeled hard work and responsibility for their four daughters, while placing a tremendous emphasis on the value of education.

In high school, Eva flipped burgers at a local Wendy's and volunteered alongside her entire family for many causes, including the Special Olympics, to cheer on her oldest sister Elizabeth who was born with special needs.

EVA: My whole childhood was really shaped by my special needs sister and my mom, and her introducing us to volunteerism very early in life that it just stuck with us.

My earliest job was volunteering as a hugger at the Special Olympics.

That was my job.

You had to stand at the end of races and... KATE: ...give everyone hugs.

EVA: And give everybody hugs.

It was the best job in the world.

KATE: Yeah.

EVA: I mean, every Thanksgiving we'd go to the soup kitchen and my mom would say, "We're not going to eat until they eat."

You know, we couldn't have Thanksgiving until we fed other people.

KATE: That came from your mother?

EVA: My mom and my dad, and my aunts.

I was surrounded by amazing women growing up.

I have, you know, three sisters.

I have nine aunts.

Surrounded by women and independent women, and smart women, and educated women.

And so, I didn't really have to look far to see the woman I could become, because it was all around me.

KATE: When was it when you said, "I really want to pursue a career in acting"?

EVA: You know, it was by uh, accident because I was in college, my senior year of Texas A and I, and all my money ran out.

I had a Pell grant that ran out, I had financial aid that ran out, and I was like "Ugh, I am at the finish line to get my degree."

And I was like, How am I going to pay for my senior year, because my parents could only help me so much.

And uh, my friend said, "You should enter this scholarship pageant."

And I was like, "What's that?"

And it was a beauty pageant but they called it a scholarship pageant.

And I was looking at the prizes and it was like, 1st place gets this, 2nd place gets this...

If I could get 4th place, it would pay like my books.

And I was like okay, if I could just get 4th place, then I will have enough and I could patch together the rest.

Gracias.

And so, I entered it, never been in a pageant in my life, which is odd for Texas, 'cuz we love our pageants... KATE: Right, right, yes.

EVA: And I won.

I won the whole thing.

And I was like, "Oh my God!"

So, I had tuition, books, dormitory, stipend, and I was so happy that my senior year I could finish.

That's what I...that was the point of doing the beauty pageant.

KATE: As part of a pageant prize package, Eva also won a trip to LA to attend an acting and modeling convention.

Once in Hollywood, she never looked back.

Foregoing plans to attend graduate school, and instead pouring herself into the pursuit of acting.

KATE: We're getting down and dirty.

Let's do this.

EVA: Down and dirty.

This is...just take, don't eat... ...just don't get too full on this.

KATE: Okay.

Mmm...mmm!

Oh, my gosh.

Wow, is that good.

EVA: Has your life been changed?

KATE: I'm speechless.

EVA: Yeah.

KATE: That is delicious.

EVA: Mm-hm.

I always do my happy dance.

KATE: Too thumbs up.

Yes!

What has the ups and downs of Hollywood taught you about life?

EVA: About rejection for sure.

I mean it's an industry of rejection.

Tough skin, you know?

Really celebrating the "yes" after a thousand 'nos.

Perseverance and discipline.

Just staying focused on "Well, you know, that wasn't for me.

I'm gonna go onto the next."

I was born that way too though.

I was born like, "glass is half full," "world's full of possibilities."

KATE: So, the rejection didn't bother you?

EVA: Not at all.

KATE: It was just part of the deal and, if you got something, great.

EVA: If you got something it was so great.

I don't know why I just knew and I believed in me.

I believed in me.

Like, it's gonna happen.

It's gonna happen.

A lot of people have dreams and goals and don't do anything.

KATE: Right, you just think about it.

EVA: I was a dreamer but I was a doer as well.

KATE: Yeah, that's so good.

Eva worked a day job at a headhunting office in LA and began to audition relentlessly, steadily building a body of work including a guest appearance on the hit TV show Beverly Hills 90210 and then a two year stint on the soap opera The Young and the Restless .

In 2004, she landed the role of a lifetime as Gabriel Solis on the hit show Desperate Housewives .

KATE: That role on Desperate Housewives .

You had been acting for years before that.

But what did that role do for you in particular?

EVA: Oh, my God.

Well, that role made me a household name.

KATE: Yes.

EVA: I mean, it was a global phenomenon.

And, you know, people knew me in countries that I'd never been to.

(Eva laughs) KATE: Wow.

And what was that like?

It was an experience of being...?

EVA: Um.

It was so fun.

It was crazy but it was so fun.

I enjoyed every minute of that show and that experience.

Um, I was just happy to be there.

I was like, "I am happy to be in the room."

I didn't realize the reach that we would have, the longevity that we would have.

KATE: Desperate Housewives ran for eight seasons and with it, Eva's career skyrocketed.

From the covers of international magazines like Vogue and Marie Claire to being the first celebrity named Maxim Magazine's hottest female star two years in a row.

In 2011, she was among People Magazine's "Most Beautiful."

And that same year, she was listed as the highest paid TV actress by Forbes Magazine.

And at the height of it all, she made the decision to take on a Masters degree in Chicano studies and used her thesis as the basis of her own foundation to support Latina mothers and families.

EVA: I did a study and I said, "What makes Latinas successful in life?"

And so, my Masters degree is the basis of The Eva Longoria Foundation's mission.

So, I did a study about all of the successful Latinas in STEM fields: engineers, doctors, biologists, science professors.

KATE: This is when you went back to school to study Chicano studies, correct?

EVA: Yes.

When I got my masters while shooting Desperate Housewives .

KATE: Which is amazing.

Which is really a testament.

Was that because of you trying to think, you know what, I really have a platform for good.

Where can I channel my efforts?

EVA: No, no, that was my mom guilting me into being the only person in my family who did not have a Masters degree.

KATE: Really?

EVA: All of my sisters have Masters degrees.

Yeah.

And she's like I was still the disappointment.

KATE: Even though you were...

BOTH: On Desperate Housewives !

EVA: I was like, "Mom, I am a big deal!"

She was like, "You don't have your Masters degree."

I mean, it was very important to her.

And so, then I was like, "Okay.

Let me go back."

Looking back, that was crazy.

KATE: Yeah.

EVA: To go back to get my Masters degree.

I would go to night school.

So, I would finish Desperate Housewives , I'd drive to college, I would do 7-10 class on uh...Monday, Tuesday, Thursdays.

And then...writing papers, doing my homework on set, asking all the grip, sound-guys, crew, everybody, "What was the New Deal?

Does anybody know what that meant?"

And I would just, everybody would help me with my homework, yeah.

KATE: That's amazing.

It really is.

And it's a testament to you and also the pressure from your mom.

Let's give your mom credit where it's due.

But also, you really focusing your attention on what matters most to you.

EVA: I really wanted to focus on women of the Latina community because we are really the CEOs of the household.

I mean, we make the financial decisions, we make the educational decisions, we make the healthcare decisions.

And I said, "I want to talk to her.

I want to make her life easier."

And so that's when I started The Eva Longoria Foundation to focus on helping Latinas reach their full potential.

KATE: In 2005, Eva also launched a production company called Unbelievable Entertainment and continued to champion Latin American focused projects, including the 2010 documentary The Harvest , about the conditions of migrant children working in agriculture, and the highly-acclaimed 2014 documentary Food Chains about the conditions of migrant farm workers in Florida.

During that time, she also opened a restaurant called Beso, with locations in Los Angeles and Las Vegas and she wrote a cookbook titled Eva's Kitchen: Cooking with Love for Family and Friends.

WAITER: Beef skirt.

Chicken fajita.

KATE: Oh, my gosh.

EVA: Fajita... KATE: So, they are credited with bringing fajitas to the U.S.?

This restaurant.

EVA: El Tiempo.

KATE: And the grandmother.

Yes.

Isn't that amazing?

EVA: (screams) I am so excited.

You guys don't even know.

Are you eating?

'Cuz this... Have you had enchiladas?

KATE: I have enchiladas but not El Tiempo enchiladas.

EVA: Not enchiladas.

KATE: Thank you very much.

Appreciate it.

Wow.

EVA: Let me tell you: fajitas growing up, for me, it was exactly like this with the flour tortillas.

And it was a special occasion.

We didn't eat them all the time.

It was like you would come to the thing-muchas gracias- it was somebody's graduation, somebody's baptism.

So, for me, fajitas, I associate it with like... it's a very special moment.

And it is, 'cuz you're here.

We're here.

KATE: I don't know where to begin.

Mmm.

Oh, wow.

EVA: I mean, I didn't even ask if you have dietary restrictions... KATE: Not today I don't!

EVA: ...because I didn't even want to know.

KATE: I do, but not today!

EVA: So, it's cheesy with chili con carne, so it's like beef, beans, the tortilla.

KATE: Yes...that is incredible.

Mmm.

The amount of you know, outside ventures that you've done in connection with acting, you know, it's not like you stopped acting and then been a business woman.

EVA: My day job.

I still have my day job.

KATE: Yeah, exactly.

You've done them, you know, concurrently.

Right?

What prompted you to think, "I'd like to become an entrepreneur"?

EVA: I've always been fascinated with the business aspect of movie-making, TV-making, and so I really used Desperate Housewives as my film school.

So, I was like, "Why is that?

What is that?

Why is that camera?

What's that thing called?

"Dolly."

Oh, it's a dolly.

What do you mean lenses?

"Oh, there are different lenses."

I was insanely curious about the process and uh, then I thought, "God I don't really have control over anything as an actor."

You don't control the final product, you don't control your destiny, you just kinda wait for a job, you hope to get a job, and I didn't want to be in that position.

I wanted to create my own jobs.

And so, that led me to producing and directing because I knew I had to get behind the camera to create my own opportunities and to create opportunities for other Latinos and other women.

And so that...

I just wanted more control.

And I will tell you this: as a woman, and as a woman of color, you have to be undeniable for jobs.

Right?

They can't take a chance on you.

They can't roll the dice on you.

As a director, as an actor, they kinda...you have to do things twice as good, we have to do things twice as fast, twice as cheap.

I have no problem outworking anybody in the room and if you need me to show you that, I'm gonna show you that.

You want to underestimate me?

Great!

I love it!

Have low expectations, 'cuz I will surpass them.

KATE: You've really talked about how resilient and how much grit you had in Hollywood.

(Eva laughs) So from anyone looking in, they would say you've had a charmed career.

EVA: Mm-hm.

I have!

(Eva and Kate laugh) EVA: I have.

I'm so lucky.

KATE: But I know there have been hard days.

Can you take me to one of them?

EVA: Becoming a director had its obstacles.

KATE: How so?

EVA: Because I was an actor, and I think a lot of people in the industry were like ugh.

It was like an eye roll of like another actor directing... KATE: Here she goes.

EVA: Yeah.

Thinking she can do it.

KATE: Yeah.

EVA: And it was something, you know...you said, what do I feel most natural at?

KATE: Yeah.

EVA: Directing.

Other than motherhood, directing.

KATE: Really?

More so than acting?

EVA: Way more than acting.

With acting, I really have to like focus, and put the work in.

And I'm very natural behind a camera.

But, proving that to other people took awhile.

KATE: Yes.

Eva earned her directing stripes with short films and TV series, including episodes of the show Blackish , The Mick , and Jane the Virgin .

In 2023, she made her feature film directorial debut with the biopic Flamin' Hot , about a Latino worker who dared to dream big.

So, you directed Flamin' Hot .

EVA: Yeah.

Had to fight for that job.

KATE: That was really culturally significant.

And talk to me about why you wanted that so badly.

EVA: When I read Flamin' Hot , I was like, "Nobody else can direct this.

I am the only person who can do this.

And let me tell you why."

And I saw the movie in my head.

I knew the tone.

I knew what we were going to do.

I just knew everything.

It was Richard's story, Richard Montaez, about being an underdog.

People always telling him, "No, that job's not for someone like you."

And, "No, people who sound like you don't really get far."

And, "Oh no, no that idea...ideas don't come from people like you."

And he was like, "Why not me?

Why not me?"

And that's what I think!

I was like, "I am Richard Montaez!"

People told me... KATE: You saw yourself in that role.

EVA: Oh, 100 percent.

People go, you know, "Why are you moving to Hollywood?

You're never going to make it.

You know how many people move to Hollywood?"

And I go, "I know, but people do."

KATE: Yeah, but what if?

EVA: But, what if?

What if I made it?

And, that's what Richard dared to ask.

But not why not me?

Why can't I be successful?

And I thought that was a really valuable lesson for my community to see.

That was important to me.

And that's what I look for now in everything I do, is producing with purpose.

As you've seen in my work now.

I really have a specific theme of like everything I do has to say something, move culture forward, expose you to ideas you didn't know existed, um, change your mind about something, or start a conversation about something.

And so, I...the bar is definitely high for directing.

KATE: In 2020, she became an investor and part owner of the women's professional soccer team Angel City FC, and she recently launched her own tequila brand Casa del Sol, another nod to her Mexican heritage, all while continuing the philanthropic work of The Eva Longoria foundation, that has now been serving Latino women and families for almost 20 years.

KATE: Did you feel a greater obligation when you were successful and were on the highest paid list, as you were several times, to do even more?

EVA: I feel that responsibility for sure, to give back.

But, I don't think, I don't think it's because I'm rich and famous.

And I think that's the big myth, "Oh I can't be a philanthropist I'm not rich and famous."

Anybody can do philanthropy.

Anybody can do community organizing.

Most of the most amazing organizations in this country are from an angry mom, who was fed up with the school system.

An angry mom, whose son or daughter died from a drunk driver.

An angry, you know, citizen who wanted to see change in the community.

KATE: Yeah, that's a great point.

Agitation is an advantage, isn't it?

EVA: Yeah.

So, even before Desperate Housewives made me a household name, I was always involved philanthropically or with activism or advocacy or you know, marching, on the state capitol to change a law.

Like,I was very civically engaged and I was politically-aware and I was community-aware.

KATE: You were just awarded a huge amount of money.

I think it was $50 million from Jeff Bezos in the Courage and Civility award.

Congratulations!

EVA: Yes, I was given this amazing grant by the Bezos fund.

And, uh, this award they give every year to somebody who is doing good.

You know, and they said, "Go do good!"

That's really the directive is like, "Go do more of what you're doing."

KATE: You created Casa del Sol.

There's a lot of different tequila companies.

What did you see in them and what was the differentiator?

EVA: I've been asked for the last twenty years to put my name on a tequila.

They're like, "You're Mexican!

You should do a tequila!"

And I was like, "No.

It doesn't speak to me" until Casa del Sol.

They sent me a sample in an unmarked bottle, and I tasted it, and I was like "Woah!"

But what really blew me away was the amount of women behind the brand in a very male industry.

Our master distiller is a woman, her name's Carmen, very rare in Jalisco and in the Tequila region to have a female master distiller.

There's very few of them.

There's so many amazing women behind this brand and I was like, "Well, this is different."

And it felt different in the brand story.

And it was very Mexican-forward.

And if you see the landscape of tequila today, it's American-forward.

And so, I didn't want to go to a region and exploit the resources and put my name on it and sell it here.

I was like, "No.

All tequila is Mexican-made, it's not Mexican-owned."

And I thought Mexicans should participate in their greatest export, you know?

KATE: What's next for you?

You've done so much.

What haven't you done that you would like to do?

EVA: Mmm, so much!

I refuse to believe my greatest success is behind me.

When people go, "Oh, my God, you were on that big show twenty years ago!"

"Oh, my God, you did that thing!"

And, "Oh, my gosh, you directed that movie!

Wow!"

And I'm like, yes, I feel like I haven't even ventured into my potential.

Like, it's just the tip of the iceberg.

Like, I can't wait to see what's next.

I can't wait to do this.

It's about building things now.

And it's about building things that are gonna stay here long after I'm gone.

You know, my philanthropy, my businesses, my family.

You know, those are the things I am really focused on right now.

KATE: Oh.

I did not know this was coming.

WAITER: Homemade tres leches.

KATE: I love tres leches.

EVA: Oh, my gosh, that looks amaing.

KATE: That is amazing.

EVA: Mmm...Oh my God.

KATE: Well, this has been a delight, Thank you, Eva, for this time.

EVA: Thank you!

KATE: What a fun lunch with Eva Longoria.

She loves to eat.

And she also knows that food is a great way to communicate a story.

A talented actress?

Yes.

But more importantly, a massively hard-working woman, who wasn't going to leave anything to chance.

She became an entrepreneur so that she could control her destiny.

And she has.

Not just by creating business after business, but by supporting the kind of women that raised her: proud, strong Latinas.

They created her and she, in turn, is spending a lifetime supporting and elevating and creating opportunities for thousands of others like her.

EVA: Salud!

KATE: Cheers to you!

EVA: Si!

KATE: If you would like to know more about the guests, the restaurants, and the inspiring stories of success, please visit ToDineForTV.com or follow us on Facebook and Instagram @ToDineForTV.

We also have a podcast.

To Dine For , The Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

To Dine For with Kate Sullivan is made possible by... (Music and chatter) MAN: During the weekends, we do like a grill.

(Clatter of chess board) MAN #2: You know you have bragging rights in the hood.

I'm like, "My guy won the game."

(Clatter of chess piece and men yelling and cheering) FEMALE ANNOUNCER: At American National, we honor the "do"-ers and the dreamers: The people who gets things done and keep the world moving.

Our local agents are honored to serve your community, because it's their community, too.

American National.