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The NYC marathon is Sunday. For Italian restaurants, Saturday night is the Super Bowl
By
Ryan Kailath
Published Nov 2, 2024
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Photo by Heather Willensky Photography / Courtesy of Bevacco
By
Ryan Kailath
Published Nov 2, 2024
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For many marathoners, carbo-loading – the process of increasing carb intake three to six days before a race – is a vital component of their strategy.
And with over 50,000 runners set to take part in this weekend's New York City Marathon, that means it can be hard to find a table at any restaurant serving complex carbohydrates … like pasta.
Thankfully, New York has roughly 800 Italian restaurants – not including pizza joints – and some of them have spent the week preparing for the extra crowds.
Bevacco in Brooklyn Heights is a popular spot for marathon runners looking to load up on carbs.
Photo by Heather Willensky Photography / Courtesy of Bevacco
Amy Mascena, the general manager of Bevacco in Brooklyn Heights, said she’s not sure how huge crowds of runners find her restaurant every year. It’s nowhere near the starting line, the finish line, or the Javits Center Runner's Expo, where racers pick up their bibs and numbers. But they do, and she's learned to plan ahead.
“We hire extra staff. We have to make extra pasta,” Mascena said. “It’s a whole thing.”
Mascena speculated that her seasonal patrons could be coming from the many hotels a half-mile away in Downtown Brooklyn. She realized she had a marathon crowd years ago when she noticed guests ordering two plates of pasta, and no wine.
“It’s not really a festive party occasion,” Mascena said. “They’re in and out very early. We have some beautiful wine, too, so it’s a shame.”
Bevacco's linguine vongole is served with clams, garlic, and toasted breadcrumbs.
Photo by Heather Willensky Photography / Courtesy of Bevacco
Other restaurants make a point of making it a party. Victoria in central Harlem and Vineapple in Brooklyn both sell seats for special pre-marathon pasta dinners. And at Azalea, in Hell’s Kitchen, the New York Flyers running club brings guest speakers to its carb dinner. This year's guest is 76-year-old Jeannie Rice, who has broken global running records for her age group.
Back in Brooklyn Heights, Andrea Mocci, owner of Sardinian restaurant River Deli, said he doesn’t throw a specific marathon party, but runners show up anyway.
Mocci and his wife opened the place 15 years ago, and he said he’s had carbo-loading pre-marathon crowds every year except for 2012, when the race was canceled in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
Compared to his neighbors at Bevacco, on the other end of the neighborhood, Mocci is less surprised by the crowds. He said that could be because he’s a runner himself.
“When you travel for marathons, the first thing you do – the same thing I do – is you find an Italian restaurant to have pasta the Friday and Saturday night before,” Mocci said.
He enjoys meeting and talking shop with the runners who pile into his small restaurant ahead of every marathon — though this year he’s making an early night of it as well, as he’ll be racing on Sunday.
“I can cook [pasta] at home,” Mocci said, laughing. “But traditionally I go in the day before, so I have a chance to talk to the runners, too.”
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nyc events
new york city
restaurants
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Ryan Kailath
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