The Lonesome Vegetarian: Press Cafe impresses in health-oriented lifestyle center

Its name, The Trailhead at Clearfork, sounds about as Cowtown-y as anything in Fort Worth — the same vibe as cattle drives and the Stockyards.

But the new development along the Trinity River in west Fort Worth is anything but that. Its marketing tagline is “a hub for fitness, health, outdoor leisure and community gathering,” and the first businesses to open here were Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop and Pedal Hard Training.

Sharing an attractive riverfront building and fitness-minded clientele with those is the new Press Cafe.

Though I can feel slightly under-Spandexed when I dine in this outdoorsy paradise, the health focus means the meatless options are, though small in number, quite good.

Press Cafe is from chef and restaurateur Felipe Armenta, who’s had big success in Fort Worth with Pacific Table and The Tavern and will soon open Cork & Pig Tavern in West 7th.

The food menu is pretty small, just one side of a narrow little card at lunch and dinner (there’s an equal emphasis on libations). But the fare is recognizably Armenta’s, which is good.

The biggest news for me is that the list of four burgers includes a house-made veggie burger that appears to be a new recipe. Armenta didn’t have to create a new one — I would have gladly traveled out here to get the same burger he serves at Pacific Table (sushi rice, shiitake mushrooms and a pineapple glaze are the standout ingredients).

That may still be the best veggie burger in Fort Worth. But it’s great that we have a new option, and this younger sibling might also make a list of the best in town.

I’m not sure how I’d like this made vegan — the generous slab of melted cheddar seemed to be doing some of the structural work, helping hold this thing together. It’s also dressed with avocado, tomato, pickles, red onion and microgreens, and that avocado makes things moist a little too quickly.

It comes with good, delicate house-made potato chips that look beautiful with their skins on and a romesco aioli that you won’t need on the burger but is nice for dipping the chips.

I’ve had this burger on two visits already, but I like the other, healthier veggie entree just as much — it may be healthier and more appealing if you’ve arrived via the Trinity Trails, as I’ve done all of once.

It’s the heirloom vegetable salad ($13), with a sherry vinaigrette and so many fruits and veg that it was hard to identify them all. We think it included tomatoes, golden beets, rainbow carrots, dates, peas, chia seeds, pistachios and Port Salut cheese, at least.

Among appetizers, we were glad we asked about the “Medi dip” ($10), which, like many of the dishes, gets no description on the menu. We assumed it was probably just hummus, but it’s a duo of hummus and a really flavorful muhammara (walnuts and spicy red pepper dip) served with toast, celery, squash, and yellow and purple carrots for dipping.

You could also build a meal with side dishes ($5), like farro salad, ratatouille, sauteed chard or (my choice) Brussels sprouts with pineapple glaze and lemon.

A daily pasta special usually comes with a vegetarian option, too. We liked the chicken pomodoro sans chicken just fine, but it was not special enough to be worth $17. A server told us the restaurant is considering adding a vegetarian pasta to the permanent menu.

Press Cafe, 4801 Edwards Ranch Road, Suite 105; presscafeftworth.com.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 5:19 PM with the headline "The Lonesome Vegetarian: Press Cafe impresses in health-oriented lifestyle center."