Executive chef Hillary Sterling knows the NYC Marathon is around the corner when the crowds gather at Ci Siamo. Since the Hudson Yards Italian restaurant opened nearly five years ago, business has surged every Thursday and Friday before race weekend, especially at lunchtime.
Last year alone, Sterling and her team served 716 bowls of tagliatelle and rigatoni to runners gearing up for race day, generating an estimated $18,000 in sales. Many stopped by en route to pick up their marathon packets at the nearby Javits Center.
For marathoners, the appeal goes beyond a satisfying meal: Carbs replenish glycogen stores in the muscles and liver, helping runners sustain endurance and delay fatigue.
Runners compete in the New York Marathon in New York City, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. AFP via Getty Images
Ci Siamo isn’t the only restaurant cashing in on the pre-race ritual. As runners and their supporters descend on NYC for marathon weekend, the city’s pasta joints and pizza spots see a surge in diners fueling up for the big day.
In Park Slope, Pasta Louise is among those riding the carb-loading craze.
Last year, marathon weekend was a gold-medal performance for the Brooklyn restaurant: From Friday through Sunday, Pasta Louise sold 1,710 bowls of pasta, generating an estimated $30,000 in sales, plus another 125 pounds of housemade pasta for runners to cook at home.
Pasta Louise chef-owner Allison Arevalo, a marathoner herself, told The Post that most diners ask for double portions of pasta. (These days, though, she’s traded marathon training for her new passion: Hyrox)
Ci Siamo chef Hilary Sterling. Christina Holmes
“It’s race weekend, so when you look around, you see lots of people with two plates,” she told The Post.
There are plenty of big groups cheering runners on, too. They might not all have bibs, but everyone takes the race as an excuse to carb-load.
“It isn’t just the runners who eat double the amount — everybody does, because they think they might as well. I love marathon weekend,” Arevalo added.
Pasta isn’t the only carb runners are reaching for ahead of race day. Pizza spots get a slice of the action, too, including Brooklyn’s Pizzeria Fornino.
“Marathon weekend is always a busy one for us,” Michael Ayoub, Fornino’s chef and founder, told The Post. “We see about a 15% increase in business the night before, particularly at our Time Out Market Dumbo location by the water.”
Marathoner and Pasta Louise owner Allison Arevalo poses with a plate of pasta at her Park Slope restaurant ahead of the NYC Marathon rush. Stefano Giovannini for NY Post
The crowds come hungry, and it’s not hard to spot the runners. “Runners and their families visit from all over, and you can always tell who’s racing the next morning by how much pizza they’re ordering. Any suggestion of sharing a pie is immediately shot down,” Ayoub said with a laugh.
For runners looking to mix up their carb-loading routine, pizza tours offer another way to get their fill. Scott Wiener, founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours, sees the trend every year.
In the week leading up to the marathon, clients often book the $65 2.5-hour tour that makes pit stops at three different pizzerias throughout NYC to make carb-loading a little less monotonous.
Arevalo is offering both a pre-and post-race special for runners this weekend. Stefano Giovannini for NY Post
“It happens every year,” he said. “If you were running the Boston Marathon, that would be different. But pizza is meant to power you over the landscape of this city — it’s the indigenous food here.”
His tours follow no set route, but he’ll make a point of steering marathoners toward Sicilian-style slices. They’re ideal for what he calls their high BSI value — bread per square inch — and they’re lighter on dairy, too, another plus for runners.
In Manhattan, Varick Street’s Fermento is a favorite, as is Philomena’s in Sunnyside, Queens. On Staten Island, the choice is a no-brainer. “Joe and Pat’s is too thin — this is a Brother’s [Pizzeria] situation.”
For runners looking to fuel up without breaking the bank, restaurants across the city are serving up marathon-weekend deals, too.
Michael Ayoub, owner and chef of Fornino. Fornino
At East Village Italian spot Olio e Più, runners who show proof of race registration can score 50% off pasta for themselves and up to six friends on Saturday.
From Saturday through Monday, Pasta Louise is offering two marathon-inspired specials: a light, protein-packed pasta with turkey and tomatoes to fuel up before the race, and a more indulgent Bolognese to celebrate crossing the finish line.
And on Friday and Saturday, runners who flash their bibs can score a half-price croissant at select Épicerie Boulud locations across the city.
Meals and deals aside, plenty of NYC runners are carb-loading at home, too.
FreshDirect, the popular grocery delivery service, saw a 5% week-over-week increase in dried pasta sales leading up to last year’s marathon.
For those cooking at home, Chef Sterling, an athlete herself, suggests making pasta with broth instead of water. “It adds protein, all the good stuff in the stock, that collagen. It’s good for your body, and it’s lighter,” she explained.
And for a quick pre-race carb, Emma Bengtsson, who runs the kitchen at Aquavit, has a simpler suggestion: Head to a market, like the one at Union Square, and pick up a loaf of sourdough. If you’re going to eat a whole loaf, after all, make it better than Wonder Bread.
“It’s baked in the city, and by people, not in a factory,” she raved.
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