By Amanda Barnes for The Mendoza Sun
There’s a new takeaway taking Mendoza by storm – unusual perhaps as they are serving what on the surface wouldn’t appear all that different to a thousand other takeaways: pizzas and burgers. But these aren’t your usual patties and pizzas…
Created by Dario Fidel Armijo with three friends, the idea behind Fidelito’s is to bring a new flavour and style to Mendoza’s food scene. Actually Argentine by birth, Dario moved to the US when he was a year old and lived for thirty years in Southern California, Texas and New York. In the US he learnt about (and ate) a wide range of different cuisines and fell in love with cooking from a young age. “My passion for cooking started when I was 8 or 9 making breakfast for my parents, they both love to cook,” Dario told me. 
After making a lot of family breakfasts and meals, and a whole bunch of backyard BBQs, he was hooked on cooking – although he never planned it as a career. However on arrival to Mendoza he could see what was missing. “When I first came here I realised how boring the food was: parilla, pancho and lomos,” Dario told me. “When I came back to Mendoza I realised there was a market for different kinds of pizzas. Gourmet is big in southern California and that is where I got my inspiration I guess. I ate a pizza here – and they eat a lot here - but it is all plain pizza with the odd pepper or piece of ham thrown on top. I realised I could do better and there was a market for something new and different.”
After eating a few mediocre pizzas, Dario realised that gourmet pizza was the missing link in the Argentine food scene. “It’s not like we are doing something really different – we are doing pizzas and hamburgers. But we are doing it with a twist. Gourmet Pizza is more elaborate with different sauces, done in an artisanal way. Everything is homemade and fresh and made with a lot of love.”
You can certainly tell that there is a lot of love and thought behind their pizzas with toppings such as Chardonnay marinated sauce and shrimp, or their Newport pizza with avocado and lettuce. “There are a lot of things on the menu that are really personal: Larry Peperoni is for my dad, Larry, who loves peperoni. And I make Nona’s Favourite with coconut and black sugar – it was my grandmother’s favourite pizza.”
Dario was dreaming up Fidelito’s for many years during which he tested out his recipes on more than willing family and friends and the public – either in his parilla in Buenos Aires, at a Pancho shop in Godoy Cruz or feeding clubbers with the munchies as they left a nightclub in the early hours. But it was when he got together with his three partners Angelo, Claudia and Javier that the dream became a reality. Angelo and Claudia both lived in the states for many years (Angelo is a New Yorker) and they too shared the desire to bring fresh fast food to Mendoza.
“We are not just another pizza place, we take good pride in what we do,” Angelo told me. “We would never serve anything that we wouldn’t eat ourselves. I think our love, care and attention make the difference.”
Among the gourmet and traditional pizzas, Fidelito’s also boasts a menu with their massively popular crispy chicken wings (check out La Bomba flavour for some proper spice – Angelo says the secret is in the Bolivian chillies); big salads with homemade ranch, ceaser and blue cheese dressings; and seriously good burgers all made fresh that day and with homemade buns. “I was a big sports bar fan and all the food is pretty sports bar related!” says Dario.
Although the first month that Fidelito’s has been open seems to be smooth sailing, there were some difficulties in starting a business in Argentina, let alone a north American style takeaway which heavily relies on good ingredients.
“Mendoza is probably the most difficult place to find ingredients – it limits what you can cook. For example basil (which should be easy to get hold of), we have to say ‘when in season’ on our menu! We use what we have.”
As one expects there were a few hiccups in starting a business in typically slow paced Mendoza, but Dario felt that this was the ideal place to start. “I loved it when I moved here, it’s just a different vibe – there is such an appreciation of family and friends. It wasn’t that difficult a decision to stay down here.”
The other great advantage (apart from the relaxed lifestyle) is that Mendoza is a booming tourism city with lots of foreigners and people who like to travel. “The cool thing about being in this area is that a lot of people travel (either to Chile or the US), and they recognise the food and want to have it again,” added Claudia.
“We mainly try to point towards the tourist because they have a more open mind about food,” Dario told me. “No one here would have thought in the past about eating a pizza with salad on top, but things are changing. I think the argentine palate has started to open up. I am the first gourmet pizza place in Mendoza but local people have also responded excellently.”
It seems that perhaps the most rewarding feedback is from converted locals. “What has blown me away is having 60 yr old Argentines say that it’s the best pizza they have had in their lives. It’s a huge confidence booster.”
And this confidence boost is what is leading Fidelito’s on to start with their grand expansion plans. “The general idea is to do a chain of takeaways – and to do restaurants as well. We’d like to expand to BA, Cordoba, Chile and also to work on some frozen pizzas.”
And with their glowing feedback from the last month, it looks like other cities could well enjoy Fidelito’s too. And Dario and his partners are more than happy to spread the love: “I think that the best way to anyone’s heart is through the stomach. To make something from your own hands and give someone that food is gratifying. It’s awesome, it’s a good feeling.”
Fidelitos is located on Cnl Rodriguez 384 and open Mon – Fri 11.30 – 15.30, and Mon – Sat 19.30 – 00.00.
On the web : http://www.fidelitos.com.ar
Amanda Barnes is a freelance writer currently living in Mendoza. For more information, visit www.amandabarnes.co.uk or click here to see her profile.
