Pasta at Portobello – Carb Loading at Disney Springs

One thing you always hear about during a big race weekend is carb loading. You know, eating all the things! Carbs are good when you are running long distances and pasta is a good way to get in those carbs. So I was super excited to hear that Portobello Restaurant in Disney Springs was offering a runner’s special during Walt Disney World Marathon weekend.

Pasta at Portobello - Carb Loading at Disney Springs

In addition to their regular, and pretty spectacular, menu they were offering an indulgent special for runners to get their carb cravings before and after the race. They were serving a Pasta Primavera special with penne pasta, fresh tomato sauce, and seasonal vegetables, plus 10% off to any runners who show their race bib. How cool is that? AND they are going to be offering it again during the Princess 1/2 Marathon weekend as well.

Pasta at Portobello - Carb Loading at Disney Springs

I may not have been running during the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to check out this special. After working a couple of hours in the KT Tape booth at the race expo, my friend and I headed over to Portobello for an early dinner. We started off our meal with a couple of their inventive cocktails. I had the Orange-Tini made with Florida Cane vodka while my friend had the Mediterranean Mule made with house-crafted limoncello, fig vodka, and ginger beer.

Pasta at Portobello - Carb Loading at Disney Springs

Even though we knew we had big bowls of pasta coming our way we had to try out a couple of their appetizers. We had the calamari and the mozzarella stuffed rice balls. I thought the mozzarella stuffed rice balls were a “weird” thing but Ted, one of the amazing staff at Portobello, explained that these were actually known as Arancini. Arancini are rice balls that are stuffed with mozzarella, coated with breadcrumbs, and fried. Oh. Em. Gee. They were served with their house-made marinara sauce and were amazing.

Pasta at Portobello - Carb Loading at Disney Springs

For my main dish I went with the Pasta Primavera since it was the special and my friend had the Cappellini Aglio Olio with shrimp. My favorite thing about the Pasta Primavera, other than the house-made marinara sauce, was the fresh veggies. They made the dish!

Pasta at Portobello - Carb Loading at Disney Springs

And because you can’t go to an amazing Italian restaurant and not have dessert. I love dessert but after two appetizers and a big bowl of pasta I wasn’t going to be able to fit something heavy in my full belly. After going over the menu we decided to go with something a little on the lighter side and share the White Chocolate Custard. It was caramelized with a crispy candy glaze kind of like creme brule and it was so tasty. It was just the sweet treat we needed to end our amazing meal.

So next time you head out to Disney for a race, or just for a day of fun, try out Portobello for some tasty and carb filled dishes.

*Disclosure: Thanks to my friends at Portobello my friend and I were able to enjoy a complimentary meal. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

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