Susan and I had both seen the buzz all over social media. “Marco is back. Marco is back.”

So, when we were planning one of our not-often-enough lunches, I loved Susan’s idea that we’d go to Tyto’s and have one of Marco’s fondly remembered pizzas.

Susan is Susan Knight York, the food writer who is undoubtedly the most knowledgeable person I know about San Miguel’s restaurant scene. Marco, we thought, was Marco Bruzzone, one of San Miguel’s most cherished and respected restauranteurs who, until about a year and a half ago, ran Fiamma, in the space now occupied by Tyto’s.

Marco had moved to Puerto Vallarta and taken Fiamma to the coast with him. We thought it would take an airline ticket if we were ever to taste his Neopolitan-style, wood oven baked pizzas again.

But, as mentioned, all of the foodie gossip was saying Marco was back and manning the oven at Tyto’s.

I arrived at the restaurant first and Daniel, an owner of Tyto’s greeted me warmly. I inquired if his dad, Carlos, a guy I consider a friend, was there?

“No”, Daniel replied, “but he’ll be here very soon.”

“And Marco”, I asked.

“Yes, he’s here, he’s in the kitchen.”

I walked over to the service window and a guy held out his arm to shake hands.

“Marco”, he announced. 

“Don Day”, I stammered.

This wasn’t Marco, unless Marco had lost about a foot in height and 20 plus years in age. I was confused, very confused. I chose a seat close to the fountain, sat there, pondered, and ordered one of bartender Diego’s non-alcoholic specialties.

Perhaps Susan could explain the mystery of the two Marco’s.

There’s a long tunnel that leads to Tyto’s and I sat and stared at the archway watching for her to emerge.

It wasn’t hard to notice her when she did. Her ski jacket was the color of the sun that had been AWOL in San Miguel for the last two weeks. We did the big hug and told each other how good we looked and, all smiles, Susan said, “I am so excited to be here; I always loved Marco. I can’t wait to see him.”

“You may be waiting a long time”, I told her and explained that it wasn’t Marco Bruzzone in the kitchen but some mysterious Marco. “Carlos, Daniel’s father is apparently on his way”, I continued, “maybe he can explain things”.

I could tell by the serious look on his face and his hunched over shoulders that things weren’t right with Carlos Sanchez. I invited him to come sit with Susan and I.

In a nutshell, Carlos explained that he had decided to take Tyto’s in a slightly different direction,  what he called “a merger of Mexico and Italy”, and had hired Marco Palacios who had worked with Marco Bruzzone at Fiamma to be in charge of the brick oven.

“I was embarassed”, said Carlos, “but I wasn’t trying to fool anyone. It was just a big misunderstanding.”

As we nibbled on delicious slices of sun-dried tomato topped in garlic and oregano that Carlos had brought to the table we decided that “same patio, same guy in the kitchen, same wood-fired oven, let’s order.”

We started with a calzone. The look was very Mexican but the flavors were very Italian. The amount of mozzarella, provolone and salami was generous. The pesto had the perfect blend of bitter and sweet. The grated parmesan had lots of makes-it-flake age.

The new, more-reserved Marco wasn’t out “charming the room” like the old effervescent Marco but what was coming out of the kitchen might be as good as what came out of Fiamma’s kitchen.

The pizza would be the test. We asked Carlos which one he would recommend. He chose the one called Parma on the menu. Susan and I had hoped he would.

It had all the good looks of the calzone. The new Marco had taken a traditional Margherita style with puréed tomato, mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oil and topped it with prosciutto, arugula, shaved Parmesan and cherry tomatoes. All of the toppings except the tomatoes (a little bitter) worked wonderfully. The crust, skinny on the inside, puffy on the outside, was as good as I’ve ever had.

Watch out Neopolitan, Cent’Anni, Favolosa and Mivida, I thought. There’s a new contender for the best pizza in town.

Susan shared some intriguing new dining discoveries with me, we reminisced about some of San Miguel’s lost gems, we compared the eateries of old San Miguel with the recent arrivals and, of course, we squeezed in dessert.

On the way out, I wanted to reminisce with a glimpse inside the oven that the old Marco had built and, being a great believer in the “great dishes come from great ingredients” theory, I wanted to know what went into the new Marco’s great pizza.

The flour was Neopolitan farina di grano tenero tipo. The parmesan was 18-month old Gran Padano. The prosciutto was well-aged di Parma. The puréed San Manzanos were Orlotti.

The restaurant had absolutely, definitely not been petty with their pesos.

I wasn’t quite sure I could quite get over the disappointment of the missing Marco but, plodding down Salida de Celaya after lunch, my mind began to wander. I’m going to be in PV next month; I could go see the old Marco at his new Fiamma. And, Don Day’s Wife hasn’t experienced the new Marco’s pizza at the old Tyto’s. I wondered if they delivered.

Tyto’s Grill & Drinks is located at Salida a Celaya #6, Interior 3, in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The bar/restaurant is open from 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm, every day but Tuesday. I messaged them and yes, they do deliver. You’ll find their menu on their Facebook site. To order, call 415 103 3235. 

You’ll find Susan Knight York’s insights into eating in San Miguel at cupcakesandcrablegs.com and on her Facebook site.