Two Tarrant eateries take meatless pizzas to the next level

Tarrant restaurant news had a distinct Italian accent in March and April, with the openings of Taverna Rossa in Southlake and Olivella’s, Piada Italian Street Food and Avanti in Fort Worth.

I’ve explored the first two the most, since they’re mostly about pizza, one of my obsessions and one of the items that’s most friendly to vegetarians and even vegans when we’re eating out. After 26 years’ worth of meatless pizzas, I’m only interested in places that give me more than the toppings you find at every mega-chain: low-grade mozzarella, onions, peppers, canned olives and those why-bother, flavor-free mushrooms.

A truly good pizza place can be a vegetarian’s best friend, and Olivella’s is the real thing. Before snob-approved wood-oven pizza was easy to find in Fort Worth — these days, Rocco’s, Thirteen Pies, Cane Rosso, Vivo 53 and, yes, Pizza Snob all make excellent meatless pies — I made special trips to the original Olivella’s near SMU in Dallas.

A basic Margherita (tomato, mozzarella, basil) will always do, but when the ingredients are good, there’s nothing better. The excellent one at Olivella’s uses house-made mozzarella and a cheese called Parrano. You can get this, and any pizza here, on a cracker-thin crust or a traditional Neapolitan one (still thin, and my preference).

Other meatless selections are a white-truffle pie with truffle oil, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and mozzarella; one with spinach and Bufalina mozzarella; and the Snow White, with two cheeses, oregano and olive oil — all three with no tomato sauce.

If you go the build-your-own route, some of the more interesting toppings are eggs, arugula, Parrano, truffle oil and capers — vegans might make a flavorful puttanesca-style pie with those capers plus black olives and plenty of red pepper flakes.

Salads include the primavera with mixed greens, goat cheese, sundried cranberries and an interesting coconut-balsamic dressing; the burrata with pesto, arugula, balsamic and two kinds of tomatoes; and the Olivella with pears, gorgonzola and walnuts.

Olivella’s, 6333 Camp Bowie Blvd., Suite 240, Fort Worth, 817-439-7676; olivellas.com.

Taverna Rossa, the second outlet of a concept that started in Plano, is all about craft beer and what it calls craft pizzas. As at Cane Rosso, interesting locally produced meats are a big emphasis.

But Taverna Rossa takes care with other ingredients, too, and vegetarian diners should note the Backyard Veggie pie. It has a rosemary olive oil base, with no tomato sauce but with tangy balsamic tomatoes, roasted zucchini, red onions, cremini mushrooms, bell peppers, fresh mozzarella and a scattering of lemon-dressed arugula on top.

On a second visit I shared the Local Goat & Fig with a carnivore. It comes with pancetta (we had them hold it on my half), local goat cheese, mozzarella, dried figs, basil and a balsamic glaze drizzled over with a heavy hand — we loved it. There’s also a good Margherita here.

But again, the interesting salads help make this place attractive. The Farmhouse includes carrot curls, sunflower seeds and a creamy red- and black-pepper dressing. The Texas caprese makes use of Lemley’s tomatoes, house-pickled pepper relish and garlic-infused Texas olive oil. The Caesar is kicked up with fontina and garlic croutons. And the Rustic Apple has arugula, radicchio, jazz apples, dried cranberries, Texas pecans, local goat cheese and maple cider vinaigrette.

Warning: Though Taverna Rossa is one of noisiest places I’ve ever been to, Southlake has embraced it strongly in its first couple of weekends, meaning the wait times have been very long at dinnertime.

Taverna Rossa Craft Beer & Pizza, 1151 E. Southlake Blvd., Suite 300, Southlake, 817-809-4533; tavernarossa.com.

This story was originally published April 28, 2016 at 6:40 AM with the headline "Two Tarrant eateries take meatless pizzas to the next level."