If you’ve lived in Dallas for any amount of time, you’ve certainly heard of “The Grape Restaurant”. Around for over 45 years in the Lower Greenville area, it was an institution by any standard of the word. This East Dallas gem opened in 1972 and was the quintessential neighborhood bistro—adored by many thanks to husband-and-wife owners Courtney and Brian Luscher, who served as sommelier and executive chef, respectively. In October 2019, the restaurant closed its doors as the owners decided to pursue new ventures. One of my favorite dishes there was the Coal Miner’s Pasta. It is a spaghetti dish with parmesan-cream sauce, bacon, tomato, and spinach, topped with a sunny-side up egg. It’s basically a carbonara dish on steroids!

Coal Miner’s Pasta is a simple dish that you can make at home – especially great for a busy weeknight meal. From start to finish, you can have this meal on the table in about 30 minutes. I always like to add mushrooms to any dish and this is a great one to add them to.

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Coal Miner’s Pasta: The Grape Restaurant, Dallas, TX

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by Flip Flop Foodies Course: EntreesCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb 1 spaghetti or buccatini

• 1/2 cup 1/2 heavy whipping cream

• 1/4 cup 1/4 fresh spinach

• 1/3 lb 1/3 bacon or pancetta

• 4 – 5 cloves 4 – 5 garlic, finely chopped

• 1/2 cup 1/2 oven-dried tomatoes

• 1/4 tsp 1/4 crushed red chili flakes

• 3 tbsp 3 freshly grated parmesan

• 1 1 egg, per person

Directions

• Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When water is rolling, add salt and pasta and cook to al dente, about 8 minutes, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water.
• While pasta cooks, heat large skillet over moderate heat. Sauté pancetta in a drizzle of oil until it browns, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and crushed pepper flake. Sauté garlic 2 minutes. Add heavy whipping cream and oven-dried tomatoes. 
• In a separate pot, cook each of the eggs, sunny side up.  ​​
• Drain pasta. Add pasta to pan with sauce. Toss pasta with pancetta.  Serve the individual portions, then add egg.   Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve with grated extra cheese.

Inspired by The Grape Restaurant – Dallas, TX