And then I went to Marco’s. Well it’s not really called Marco’s. The actual name of the restaurant is Fiamma. But it seems everyone is calling it Marco’s so I’m calling it Marco’s.
And why are they and I calling it Marco’s? It’s because the restaurant is a total reflection of the owner. And restaurants that reflect the owner’s personality are usually very good restaurants.
Marco’s makes me think of other San Miguel de Allende restauranteurs: Antonio at Firenze, Eduardo at Rustica. Mario at Mario’s. Maybe the secret to being a successful restauranteur is having an O at the end of your name. Or maybe it’s having a feeling of joy yourself when you bring joy to the people who dine at your tables.
Marco is Marco Bruzzone. He hails from Pescara, Abruzzo, located about halfway up Italy’s Adriatic coast and Marco wears that town and that region on his heart.
A pennant from Pescara’s soccer team hangs in the dining room and, when you ask for a glass of red, it comes, of course, from a bottle of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
Marco has style, showbiz style. Imagine Johnny Cash when Marco Bruzzone stands tall at your table. Leonard Bernstein as he orchestrates the ins and outs of the wood burning oven. Fred Astaire as he waltzes down the steps of the courtyard. Marcello Mastroianni when he dons his Felliniesque shades.
As very main-course Italian as Marco Bruzzone is though, there’s also a side of midwestern U.S.
“I spent 30 years in the restaurant biz in Chicago. But I’d had enough. I needed a better quality of life. No more chasing after 50 waiters. I wanted to walk to the market and pick my own tomatoes,” Marco told me.
“I knew next to nothing about San Miguel when I arrived but I fell in love…the antiques, the art, the poetry, music, films.”
As mentioned, the official name of Marco’s is Fiamma and it is appropriate, not only because it implies there’s a wood-burning oven, but arriving at Marco’s is like finding a bright light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
The restaurant is entered between what was, until recently, Dila’s and what was, until a while ago, the Longhorn and is now Don Lupe Grill. The word Pizzeria tops the arch and on a table out front sits a bag of Farina di Grand Tenero Tipo “OO”, the flour that lets any serious pizza eater know that Marco Bruzzone is making some very serious Neopolitan pizza.
To actually get to Marco’s requires a walk down a dark and dingy driveway. But when it ends and the space opens, there is a treed and tranquil open courtyard with seating surrounding a fountain.
There are nine pizzas on Marco’s menu. The reason they’re so good can be summed up with one word. Imported.
The quattri formaggio is the perfect example.
The dough for a Neopolitan crust is made with bread-making flour that has a high protein content. Flour is heavy. It costs a lot to ship it from Italy. But Marco uses Italian flour.
The standard for almost any pizza is canned, not fresh tomatoes. You can find good canned Mexican tomatoes but the gold standard in canned are the brands that use San Manzanos or Romas from Italy. Marco buys Don Gerardo and Bel Pomo from Italy.
There are no firm, set rules for what four cheeses you choose for a quattro formaggi pizza but “I couldn’t think of using anything but Italian”, said Marco, as he attempted a little harmony with Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma that was echoing from the small interior dining area. “I use mozarella, pecorino, parmesan and gorgonzola.”
Now there is a Mexican maker of gorgonzola that I buy at local supermarket Bonanza. But that gorgonzola is not as pungent, not as creamy, not as crumbly, and nowhere near as expensive as the genuine Italian that Marco Bruzzone showed me.
One last good thing about Fiamma’s quattro fromaggi pizza and it doesn’t have anything to do with using the best and most expensive ingredients. Marco tops his four cheese pizza with two things that may even be Mexican. They’re walnuts and oregano and, in two words, they work.
There are considerably more than pizzas on Marco’s menu including a caprese salad, A seafood salad, and a burrata and arugula salad.
I really liked the respect Marco showed for other chefs when I asked if he baked his own bread for his cheese plate or if he made the almond pastry.
“Not when somebody else can do it better. They come from Buonforno on Sterling Dickinson”, Marco said. “One hand can wash the other but it takes two hands to wash your face.”
The first time I went to Marco’s was with Bob Cooksey and Chef Nasim Insari, both guys who have a lot of meaningful things to say about restaurants and food.
“What I like most about this place”, said Nasim, “is the way Marco treats us.”
“Like family”, said Bob, “hey, maybe even better”.
There are three other restaurants in San Miguel de Allende with wood-fired ovens. Casa Papaya, La Cucina di Afrodita and Mivida all make very good Neopolitan-style pizzas. There are two things that separate their pizza from Marco’s.
The first is they only serve pizza on certain Sundays (and Wednesdays at Mivida). Fiamma makes pizza every day but Thursday from 1:00 to 10:00 pm.
The second way Fiamma is different is, simply, only Pizzeria Fiamma has a guy with an O at the end of his name; only Fiamma has Marco.
Fiamma is located between Salida a Celaya 10 and 12 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The restaurant is open every day except Thursday from 1:00 to 10:00 pm.
Thanks for this. Marco sounds like quite a character, we look forward to trying it. And it’s another example of San Miguel architecture where a dingy door or alley opens to something beautiful.
BTW – do you know where Dila has relocated, or has he not yet done so?
Dila is in the Plaza Primavera (up Salida a Queretaro and about a block before the Allende Glorieta). Estimated to open in a couple of weeks but you know how two becomes three becomes four.
Many thanks, will get in touch with him.
Thanks for the letting us know about Fiamma. I note on the photo of the Quattro Formaggio that the nuts are pecans. For this Texan, even better than walnuts. We will visit soon.
Hey Glen
I’m so pleased you found Marco. I had the Caprese salad and loved it. Marco is wonderful and a muralist as well which folks will see when they peek into the restaurant. I’ve fallen in love with that beautiful terrace area for dining.
Ann
Thanks, always looking for the next best pizza.
Will definitely try it in March.
Doesn’t La Mesa Grande do wood-fired pizzas?
George, the best-of-the-best wood fired pizza is at Casa Papaya up the road from the Sapasma office across the libramiento from La Luciernaga. And at around $200 pesos for a large pie, an excellent value. Pizzas made to order 3pm-7pm every other Sunday. BYOB. See you there!
Glenn, a group of 7 of us visited earlier tonight and I so wish that our experience had been as pleasant as yours but alas, it felt, as one member if our group said, as if we’d been conned. Here’s what happened: We made our reservation a week in advance and confirmed exactly which tables would be pushed together to accommodate our group. When we arrived for the 6pm rez, we found the place full. That was just the first instance of over-promised, under-delivered. The food was good, certainly—and if course everything tastes better when you arrive hungry and the stand around for half an hour, then wait another half an hour to order… except we never did order. Instead Marco said he was
sorry for the wait (he stopped short of admitting he had bungled the reservation) and that he would bring us three appetizers and five (personal size) pizzas. For seven hungry people. He said that’s all he had left, and then midway through the appetizers, he said (with no apology at all) that in fact he had only three (personal size) pizzas left (for 7 people). What could we say but “Okay”? At least they’d be complimentary to make up for the wait and for the lack of any choice in the matter, right? Wrong. Even the dessert tart he decided we should have, without our requesting it, appeared on the bill, which was only a few pesos short of $4,000. Now, $207 USD plus tip for 7 people might seem okay by U.S. standards but (1) this is Mexico and (2) we had nibbles, not a meal. We paid $34 each and we left hungry. That’s not okay.
MarcO’s with a capital “O”, sure knows his pizza. Folks, you are not just eating a pizza … this is soul food .. made with passion ingredients. Marco’s place has become our all time favorite place to hangout.
Great pizza. Looking forward to going back abd trying other things on the menu. One request – please put a green salad on the menu.
Yes, there are other wood fired pizza in San Miguel, but NOTHING is as good as Marco’s Pizza! It is so delicious. And the wine and salads are wonderful too.
My husband and I discovered the place very early on, and we have been going and taking our friends ever since!
Heard through the grapevine that some folks came for pizza a few days ago, and were disappointed Marco only had enough ingredients to make 5 pizza’s for their party of 7. Atually, he was overwhelmed that day, by the interest generated by the Don Day article, made more than 150 pizza’e that day, and was totally unprepared for the onslaught. If you were disappointed, come back, Marco is now prepared. BEST PIZZA I HAVE HAD ANYWHERE, REALLY 😎
Marco is a wonderful chef and person. Being in this business and half Italian I was looking for an Italian soul food and place and found it there. Pizza is excellent, his montepulciano is not to strongly elaborated and therefore goes very well with his dishes.
I actually liked it so much that I asked marco whether he would prepare my birthday dinner in March
I know I will be in great hands and hope you trust me if I tell you to put yourselves in his hands.
Apparently, Marco did not take his ‘Meds’ the day we tried to dine there…
Please do not place him in the same category as Eduardo of Rustica or Mario of Mario’s Mariscos…they are talented gentlemen and gems…Marco is an arrogant loose cannon….Eat there at your own risk.
I will give this place another chance (3rd) but the second trip there for 2 pizzas for take-away was cause for second thoughts. His place was quite busy but the pizzas were “all hat and no cattle”.
Each had about 1/3 cheese, sauce and toppings and the dough was at least two inches in from the edges. One/two good bites per slice and it was dough time.
Seems that each pie was rushed in the making and not much thought went into how it was made.
Where is he now
In Puerto Vallarta, I think.