Eat This: The Pasta Sandwich at The Operators Club in the West End

It's like something a four-year-old would do. Or maybe Will Farrell in Elf: Take a foot-long loaf of garlic bread, pull the bread out of the middle and then stuff it with pasta. Here's our only question: Why do we so often sequester our inner child?

The Operators Club is on the ground floor of the century-old Coca-Cola building at the intersection of McKinney Avenue and Lamar Street in the West End. The name of the restaurant is an homage to the great American working class, a meeting place for, according to their website, "hardworking people everywhere that uphold the American tradition of getting shit done."

Tourists in the West End clearly like to get shit done, as we found on a recent weekend. And while this area is a draw for those visiting Dallas, don't let that deter you. And not just because of the aforementioned pasta sandwich.
Glossy cement floors, exposed brick and high ceilings highlight the charm of this century-old space. Large windows allow natural light and all the doings outside to flood in. It's within walking distance of American Airlines Center, so jerseys bop past at times. There's a cozy semi-intimate dining room on one side, which was booked the day we were there. A long bar spreads down another side to a larger dining space, with plenty of TVs for all the sports. We took a seat at that bar, where service was attentive and friendly.

Chris Bohn is a partner at Operators Club, and Arturo Cruz is the chef. Together they have a fun menu of dishes all served with a side of jazz hands. It's elevated bar food and dishes, made for groups looking for a memorable outing. The Mozz Log Jammer is a fried mozzarella "plank" (not sticks) served with marinara, jalapenos and sourdough crostinis. Wagyu sliders come stacked with roasted garlic aioli and caramelized onions.

The Gochujang duck drumettes are doused in a sweet and spicy sauce, but we started instead with the Kung Pao Brussels ($12) sprouts with a reduced sauce, cashews, peppadew peppers and a bit of lime zest. These leafy green orbs popped with various flavors and had a perfectly crispy outer shell. The peppers and cashews add to the textures and flavors. It's all a delight. Brussels sprouts are on the level of aioli (which is just mayo with a stellar publicist) in terms of elevating their public image over the past 10 years. 

But it's the Pasta Zepplein ($20) that lures so many people into a carb wonderland here. When we were there, most tables had at least one of these standing at attention on the table.

Bohn first got the idea in Vegas, "The Pasta Zeppelin was a dish I made for my daughters when they were younger. I was in Vegas a few years back and saw a local concept there that was going viral with it and knew I had to put it on the menu here. Carbs on Carbs is always a win!"

You can get your zeppelin (hollowed-out bread) stuffed with fettuccine alfredo or spaghetti with marinara. The sandwich is served upright in a metal cone holder for easier access. We stuffed runaway noodles back into the bread, made some elbow room, grabbed it with both hands and — squishing it together — took a big bite. It's so good. The sauce is perfect — creamy and rich — and the garlic bread is warm.
There are other options on the menu including burgers, sandwiches, steaks, salmon, pasta and salads. We did partake in the New Orleans pasta loaded with the Cajun ham, tasso. Yes, lots of pasta, but we were already untethered. Bucatini is slathered in a generous amount of creamy crawfish sauce and tossed with the chopped tasso and topped with ribbons of parmesan.
For dessert, we topped off our carb loading with a thick, rich slice of carrot cake ($14) procured from Leila Bakery in East Dallas. Shortly after our cake arrived a jumbo cinnamon roll was served nearby — that thing is a scandal. A hot roll stuffed with Henry's lavender ice cream is as big as the plate.

Drinks were moderately priced here, which was nice. A Deep Eddy with soda was $8, as was a craft beer. It was a pretty generous meal with drinks and leftovers for about $100, which, like it or not, is decent these days.

The Operators Club, 2019 N. Lamar St., Sunday – Wednesday, 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m. – 11 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 8 a.m. – midnight.