<strong>By Tess Malijenovsky</strong>

The locally owned and operated Port Royal Pasta Company off Ribaut Road is back in the lunch business; and Lunch Bunch rushed to the set eager to find out what the local pasta house had to offer in the afternoons.

We dined upstairs of the lovely two-storied restaurant where we had the pleasure of meeting the restaurant’s General Manager Kyle Faucher and his wife, Renee. The pair moved to Beaufort in August, a return home for Renee. In fact, Port Royal Pasta Company is in the same exact location as the old Spaghetti House from the 1950’s where Renee’s grandmother Goldie had worked.

[caption id="attachment_5066" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Pasta carbonara with chicken"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/LB-carbonara1.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-5066" title="LB-carbonara" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/LB-carbonara1-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a>[/caption]

The pasta company experience began with a basket of warm bread and a dish of olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, Parmesan, herbs and roasted garlic—irresistible even to New Year’s resolutions.

The lunch menu is concise with a choice of three pasta dishes, a build-your-own pasta option, six sandwich styles or two salads, all ranging between $6-$7.75. “What we do we do well,” said Kyle, and he said it best. Our meals were simply delicious.

Kim and Elizabeth had to fight it out for the pasta carbonara (a sister favorite), but Elizabeth manned up with the SGT Major meatball hoagie with marinara, mozzarella and home-cut fries, and loved it.

[caption id="attachment_5065" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Roasted portabella panini"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/LB-veggie1.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-5065" title="LB-veggie" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/LB-veggie1-300x207.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="207" /></a>[/caption]

For any vegetarians out there looking for a hearty, filling meal, the roasted portabella panini was stacked high with roasted vegetables, Swiss cheese, sundried tomatoes and sprinkled with a white balsamic vinaigrette. I liked that the bread wasn’t squashed flat, as it tends to be in traditional paninis, and the Greek-style pasta salad was well above par.

[caption id="attachment_5064" align="alignright" width="300" caption="&quot;Best lasagna in town&quot;"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/LB-lasagna.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-5064" title="LB-lasagna" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/LB-lasagna-300x212.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="212" /></a>[/caption]

Buck’s lasagna won the Lunch Bunch favorite. There was nothing simple about the flavor of this traditional Italian dish. The herbs were infused in the sausage and beef marinara and baked with the pasta noodles seamlessly. Most of us had to take half of our generous portions home with us, but we waited untill Buck enjoyed every last bite of his lasagna. “The best lasagna in town,” Buck boasted.

Port Royal Pasta Company is located at 1430 Ribaut Road, Port Royal, SC.  It’s opened from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. To check out the dinner menu, weekly deals and upcoming events, visit their Facebook page or call 843-379-0146.
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