Guido's is Upscale Italian in Durango.

Guido's

1201 Main Avenue (corner 12th St and Main Ave)
Durango, CO, 81301

(970)259-5028
Fax: (970) 259-5029

Website: www.guidosfavoritefoods.com/

Guido's is located in the Historic section of Durango, Colorado; the main floor of a modern building of apartments. There is a patio section outside, but we opted to sit inside, so we could get a good look at the deli area, and shelves of food stuffs for sale.

We were able to find tubs of mascarpone cheese (17.5 oz for $12.98), dried pastas and many other specialties. However, this was very far from the typical deli/restaurant one would expect in the Little Italy section of New York City or Philadelphia. It reminded me more of an upper East side restaurant where more posh clientele would dine; not folks like ourselves who were dressed in jeans, t-shirts and sneakers. So, if you're looking for a more upscale Italian restaurant, Guido's is for you.

Since we were there, we decided to sit in the dining area anyway, and try out a couple of menu items. I opted for the Italian Meatball sandwich; the meatballs were most definitely real and delicious; not the typical frozen rubbery type many places use. The sauce was awesome, and I used the toasted bread to sop it all up. The corn salad contained cut up cherry tomatoes, onions and chunks of Gorgonzola cheese (a much stronger version of bleu cheese).

Hubby had the Guido's Specialty Panini with Italian meats and cheese; freshly sliced meats, rich cheese and the bread was toasted perfectly and buttery. He had the pasta salad as his side; bow tie pasta with spicy pepperoni.

While the food was very good, the prices ($11.95 per entree) were a bit steep for a sandwich plus one side; making Guido's definitely a more upscale restaurant.

Mary Cokenour