Tag: Amores

Favorite Baja Hotels: Tecate’s Hacienda

Tecate, not ordinarily a tourist destination, is more than just an entry point into Baja.  This little town has a lot to offer, and when I stay there, I usually opt for the Hotel Hacienda.  The Hacienda is easy to get to, it’s comfortable, it’s inexpensive, and it’s next door to one of the best restaurants in all of Tecate.

The Hotel Hacienda is at 861 Avenida Benito Juarez. Turn right after crossing the border and ride west about a mile. The Hacienda will be on your right.

As the map above indicates, the Hacienda is easy to get to.  You just go south into Mexico about two blocks after crossing the border, hang a right to head west on Avenida Benito Juarez, and ride about a mile.  The Hacienda will be on your right.

The Hacienda isn’t fancy, but it’s comfortable and clean, and the parking is secure (you park in a courtyard and you won’t have to worry about your motorcycle).  The last time I was there, a room was about $35, and they always have hot coffee available in the oficina.   What’s great about the Hacienda is that Malinalli’s is next door.  Malinalli’s is absolutely one of the best ever for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  I’ll tell you more about Malinalli’s in a minute.

There’s just no telling what (or who) you might run into in the Hacienda’s courtyard parking lot.
A couple of Royal Enfields put away for the evening at the Hotel Hacienda.

Tecate is home to the beer company of the same name, and most folks think of Tecate as a gritty industrial town.   Trust me on this:  There’s a lot more to Tecate than just a beer company.

The Tecate brewery, located in the middle of town, is visible from just about anywhere in Tecate.

On the U.S. side, Tecate is not much more than the U.S. Customs and Immigration station; on the Mexican side, Tecate (population 102,000) is a much larger and far more intriguing place. Founded in 1892, Tecate’s history reaches back 12,000 years when the region was settled by the Kumeyaay Native Americans who still inhabit the area.

Getting to Tecate is a beautiful ride in itself. California SR 94 winds its way through the mountains just north of the border. Roughly 25 miles east of where 94 originates near San Diego, take a right on 2-mile-long SR 188 and you’re there. There’s a sign warning you not to bring guns into Mexico (duh), and suddenly, you’re crossing the border. There are no Mexican officials or inspections as you enter; you just ride right in. You can do that going south; don’t try it going north.

Crossing the border into Mexico at Tecate.
As soon as you cross the border, you’re in Tecate, Mexico. The road you see at the intersection ahead is Benito Juarez. Make a right, and the Hotel Hacienda is about a mile up the road.

Even if your plans are for a longer and deeper Baja visit, my advice is to spend at least one night in Tecate and enjoy the town’s best kept secret, which is the cuisine. Two restaurants that stand out are Amores for dinner and Malinalli Sabores Autóctonos for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Malinalli Sabores Autóctonos, right next to the Hotel Hacienda, has exquisite regional Mexican recipes, all prepared with fresh ingredients. Don’t think salsa and chips; this is the real deal and the cuisine is both exceptional and inexpensive.   When Gresh and I did the Enfield trip a couple of years ago, we parked our bikes directly in front of Malinalli’s (as you can see in the big photo at the top of this blog) and we ate there both on the way into Mexico and on the way.  Sue loves this place, too.

Just a few of the selections at Malinalli’s. Trust me on this: Malinalli’s is superb.
Blue corn tortillas and other Kamayeey cuisines make Malinalli’s stand out.

Amores, nestled between the central plaza and the Tecate brewery, features local foods and wines.  It’s a dinner spot, it’s what you might call haute cuisine, and it is absolutely outstanding.  It’s prices are higher than what you might ordinarily encounter in Tecate, but it’s still inexpensive by US standards.  They offer a choice of how many courses you might have for dinner, but the choices are what the staff feels like cooking that day. You won’t be disappointed; this is a memorable dining experience.

Two of several staff members at Amores. The dining was world class.
One of the five dinner courses we enjoyed…grilled octopus.

If your tastes run to simpler dining experiences, Tecate has you covered there, too.  There are numerous taco stands along Benito Juarez, and if there’s a bad one, I haven’t found it yet.  Watching the chefs prepare tacos is a treat unto itself, and they are absolutely delicious.

A taco chef at work in a Benito Juarez taco stand.
Taco taste tester extraordinaire Joe Gresh.

I usually try to work my Baja visits such that Tecate is my point of entry and my point of exit.  I like staying in the Hotel Hacienda and enjoying what Tecate has to offer, and bookending a Baja visit with a stay in this cool little town always works well for me.

Want to see more about our travels in Baja?  Check out our Baja and Epic Rides pages!

If you’re headed into Baja, make sure you insure with BajaBound Insurance.  It’s the best!

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Read about our other favorite hotels in Baja!

Santa Rosalia’s Frances Hotel
Mulege’s Historico Las Casitas
Bahia San Quintin’s Old Mill

A Tecate sunrise…

The sunrise part will actually be a bit later this morning.  Last night, in Tecate, was stellar.

Gresh and I are heading into Baja later this month, but life is what happens while you’re making plans and Joe and I both felt it was best to push the trip out for a couple of weeks.  I’ve got a wedding to get to, Joe Gee is busy pouring concrete and getting his new tractor online, and before we knew it, our current activities and those of the next few days ganged up on us.  We ran out of time for our planned 2019 10-day Baja expedition.  It’s gonna happen, but not this weekend.  Give us a couple more weeks.

Still, I had the urge to cross the border, and specifically, to visit Tecate.  I have a story due for one of the magazines, and Susie and I decided to drive the 147 miles and spend the evening in this fine northern Baja town. Yep, it’s dateline Tecate. It’s where we are now.

Getting here and getting the trip together was a snap. Throw a few things in an overnight bag, grab the Nikon and a couple of fast lenses I like, get my BajaBound insurance for one night in Mexico (it was ridiculously inexpensive and it’s the only one I use when I’m in Baja), and we were off. Three hours later, we crossed the border into Mexico.

Susie and I felt like a fancy dinner last night.   You might be wondering…in Tecate?   Oh, yeah.  Amores is definitely the place for fine dining in Tecate.  Dinner there is a world class gourmet event.  Amores is tucked away in a hidden corner of this border town, and it is, to borrow a phrase, an Epicurean delight (I love that word, but I confess I don’t know what it means…if there’s a place called Epicurea, tell me about it and Gresh and I will ride our motorcycles there).

Our Tecate dinner was exquisite. We opted for five-courses (Amores has options that go up to seven courses).  Each course was better than the previous one, and the first course was awesome.  Yep, it just kept getting better and better.

Here you go, folks…enjoy!

Susie in Amores, in Tecate, Baja, Mexico. We could tell right away…this was going to be good!  Amores is a bit tough to find, and the exterior offers no clues as to what awaits inside.  But find it, enter, and an amazing experience unfolds.
Adriana pouring our wine. Sue opted for the Merlot; I had the a Cabernet. Everything served in Amores is local; these wines are from northern Baja vineyards.
Bread baked in Tecate. Jonathan, the Amores Master Chef, told us that Tecate is known throughout Mexico for its breads. Who knew? The bread was exquisite, as was the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, the onion jelly (it had incredible flavor), and the locally-prepared kimchi. Kimchi! In Tecate! Go figure! Again, who knew?
Course No. 1:  Our salad. But not just any salad. Hydroponic lettuce (grown in water), hot and cold vegetables with thin pear slices, and an amazing blend of tastes. Just exquisite!
During our dinner, I snuck over to the kitchen. That’s Jonathan, the Master Chef. He visited with us several times during our meal, which made it even more enjoyable.
Another photo of the kitchen crew hard at work. We were having a great time.
Course No. 2. We weren’t sure what it was, until Pablo, one of the two chefs, came over to explain it to us when I asked for a fork. They brought a soup spoon, and I learned that I was looking at baby octopus. Still, why a soup spoon?
Ah, yes…the tomato-based soup, poured over the octopus at our table. Again, it was delicious.
Soup time!
Course No. 3. Susie and I both opted for freshly-caught Baja corvina. It was delicious.
But wait…there’s more! This was my Course No. 4: Pork, and it was even better than the last course! There are two cuts of pork here and both were wonderful.
Susie’s Course No. 4: Chicken. I tried a little bit and it was yet another wonderful dish. These guys are world class!
And finally, our last course: Dessert. That’s a homemade cake adorned with assorted fruits and a blackberry sorbet nestled in brown sugar. It was as good as I’ve ever had anywhere in the world, and it made for a fitting finale to our grand Tecate evening.

You know, Tecate is a gritty, industrial border town that anchors the northern end of the Ruta del Vino and is home to the Tecate Brewery.  I would have never imagined this kind of dining was available here.  Los Angeles, sure.  New York City, you bet.   But Tecate?  Who knew?

We’re going to try to get a tour of the Tecate Brewery today, and then it’s on for a quick run south on the Ruta del Vino to the L.A. Cetto vineyard for olive oil, olives, a bit of wine tasting, and of course, a bottle or two of wine to take home.  Good times, folks!