Hacienda Tzintzimeo :: Antique Beauty, Gorgeous Gardens, and A Wonderful Sunday Meal To Delight You

Poster at the entrance to Hacienda Tzintzimeo, Álvaro Obregón, Michoacán.  Simple to find and close to Morelia, the hacienda has approximately 40 hectareas (approximately 100 acres) of beautiful gardens, a lake, campgrounds, villas for overnight stays, and buildings for social events.  Full information for contact is listed at the end of this article.  All photos by Mexico Cooks!.  

Two months or so ago, on a beautiful weekday afternoon, Luisa and I went out puebleando--a particularly Mexican word that means "going around to enjoy small towns".  We share a love for going out to see little towns near Morelia and often just go roaming around in the car for an afternoon, ducking into small-town churches, having a taco here or there, visiting a completely off the beaten track spiritual destination, looking at scenery and breathing crystal-clear air.  The May afternoon that we were out in this part of Michoacán, Luisa pulled into the driveway of this hacienda, where she had been several times before, so that she could show it to me.  Because it was a weekday, the restaurant wasn't open.  Because it was during Mexico's period of pandemic lockdown, the hotel was also closed.  The young man on duty said, "But of course, señoras, drive around and see whatever you like.  Enjoy yourselves."  Ooohh...thank you!  We certainly did enjoy ourselves, we spent well over an hour exploring gardens, the rock climbing wall, the villas (separate little houses to stay for an overnight or longer), one of the several large fiesta/events palapas, and the inside of the main building.  Everything we saw was beautiful, and beautifully maintained.


One of the many lovely pathways we drove or walked through in May at Hacienda Tzintzimeo.  The hacienda dates to the middle 18th century.

Toward the middle of June, Luisa asked me to set aside my birthday weekend of June 28-30 for a trip to Los Azufres, a mineral hot springs area high in the northeastern mountains of Michoacán.  Early in the afternoon of Sunday the 28th we drove out of Morelia heading east--and within a little more than half an hour, we drove once again into the entrance of the hacienda.  The surprise was enormous--wait, this wasn't Los Azufres!  This was, though, on the way to that destination, and I was flabbergasted to learn that she had made reservations for comida (Mexico's main meal of the day) at the hacienda restaurant.


Part of the restaurant terrace, looking from a dining table toward the pool.


The menu on the Sunday we were at the hacienda restaurant.  We decided to order and share different dishes, so we could taste some of almost everything.  I ask you to notice especially the price--at the bottom right-hand side of the menu.  At first I thought the cost was per "tiempo" (course) or per dish--but no, the cost was for the entire meal per person, and for the two of us, included a full pitcher of a fruity, deliciously chilled red wine concoction.


What we thought would be a choice of one appetizer each was in fact all three appetizers, to share.  Each was really delicious; I particularly enjoyed the freshly-picked elotes (tender early corn).  The hacienda grows most of its own vegetables--all organic--including this local native Mexican corn, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, chiles, squash--et cetera.  The wine glass at top left of the photo is filled with tinto de verano--a refreshing, fruity, summery red wine.


The soups that day were (above) crema de uchepo (a creamy sweet tamal turned into soup) and (below):


Caldo moreliano.  This spicy, tomato-y, cheesy soup was just perfect for me.  The photo is pretty bad, but the soup was marvelous.  


We ordered house-made mole with chicken and rice.  The locally made mole was just spicy enough, the chicken was juicy and tender, and the rice was perfectly cooked.


Our other main dish to share was the parrillada--a mixed grill plate that included tender, beautifully seasoned carne asada, chorizo (those long reddish pieces of meat) and grilled vegetables.  The surprise was the tenderness of the carne asada; in many restaurants, it's often over-cooked and tough as the sole of your shoe, but this meat was as tender as your mother's kiss.


The buñuelo, topped with Pátzcuaro-style nieve de pasta (ice cream made with almonds, cinnamon, and other flavorings).The second dessert was sold out, so both of us asked for this--the happy ending to an astonishingly delicious meal.

Several days ago, I met with don Hedel Gasca González, to talk about the hacienda, its restaurant, and its philosophies.  Don Hedel has been, as he said, the "Estorbante Oficial" (the official bother-er) at the restaurant for the last 20-plus years.  He won't call himself the boss, or the manager: he said his function at the restaurant is to poke his head into the kitchen to ask the cooks about the availability of something, or to bother a waiter about a missing fork or salt shaker, or--you understand.  His kitchen staff has no chef; rather, the cooks are long-time home cooks as well as long-time employees who know how to prepare wonderful food for the restaurant and the hacienda's social events.  Each of the cooks knows that what she prepares is based on knowledge that has been passed down to her for generations, and is knowledge that she will pass down to future generations: "Es su herencia y su legado."  (It's her inheritance and her legacy.) 

Don Hedel said that he doesn't need to go check the cooking progress, because their philosophy and attitude is always, "Estás en tu casa," ("You're at home here,") and who in the world would go into his or her mother's kitchen to check what's happening in the cazuelas (clay cooking pots)?  The cook knows, and you have no reason to wonder!  It's always going to be marvelous.


Part of one dining room at the hacienda.  The hacienda's antique furniture, paintings, and other decorations make its ambience both relaxed and elegant, as lovely for a business dinner as for an afternoon-long Sunday meal among family or friends.  You will be in the comfort of your home for the dreamy time you are at the hacienda.  Can't quite bring yourself to leave at closing time?  They'll gladly wait till you're ready to go.


Looking down the corridor of the restaurant from a main room of the hacienda toward the under-roof terrace.

Don Hedel told me that although the hacienda grows its own regional native Mexican corn, they purchase masa (in this instance, corn dough) for use in the restaurant from a woman in the nearby town of Álvaro Obregón who nixtamalizes corn in her own home.  She's been doing it for years, and her masa is always of the highest quality.  Beef comes from the best local butcher, as does pork.  The hacienda also raises its own tilapia, its own goats, and even has a deer on the property.  All but one of the hacienda restaurant employees live in the towns of Tzintzimeo, Álvaro Obregón, La Loma, and Isla del Cirio; the headwaiter lives in Morelia.


An old-fashioned swing in one of the gardens at Hacienda Tzintzimeo.  The property has beautiful areas for walking, for children to play, for rock climbing and other exercise--anything you might need or want is available to you, because, as don Hedel says (and means with his whole heart), "Estás en tu casa.  "Do you want to try several different things from the menu?  We'll make small portions for you so you can do that.  Do you want to bring your own bottle of wine?  By all means--and we never have a corkage fee.  Anything that we can attend to so that you feel completely at home here, it's yours.  If you don't see it, please ask for whatever it might be."

The restaurant is open only on Sunday afternoons, between 2:00PM and 7:00PM.  Reservations are mandatory.  The restaurant has a base menu with some additions or subtractions depending on what meats, vegetables, and fruits are seasonally available that day from its own fields and its special providers.  I asked don Hedel, "What's the best time to get there?"  His answer--as always with the restaurant guests first in mind--was, "The best time to get there is the time you arrive."  Occasionally a dish on the menu sells out, so you might want to plan your visit to the hacienda accordingly.

Mexico Cooks! hopes to see you there very soon--we plan to go back often!

Hacienda Tzintzimeo
Carretera Morelia-Zinapécuaro km 28
Michoacán 58923
Morelia
Hours:  Sunday only for comida (main meal of the day)
           2:00PM - 7:00PM
For reservations call: 443 118 9173 (cellular phone)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haciendatzintzimeomorelia/

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