Dallas, September 25, 2025
News Summary
Chef Misti Norris has opened a new casual restaurant called Rainbow Cat inside Saint Valentine in Old East Dallas. This rotating residency offers a relaxed dining experience with a unique menu featuring nostalgic comfort food and creative dishes. Guests can enjoy items like chicken nugs, house-made Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and the Unicorn Dog. Rainbow Cat aims to provide a welcoming atmosphere, catering to the local service industry while allowing for frequent menu changes and playful culinary experimentation.
Dallas — Chef Misti Norris is launching a new casual restaurant concept called Rainbow Cat, operating as a rotating, restaurant-within-a-bar residency inside Saint Valentine in Old East Dallas. The project opens with dinner and late-night service five nights a week and is framed as a smaller, more relaxed alternative to Norris’ previous fine-dining operation.
What opened and where
Rainbow Cat has a permanent residency inside Saint Valentine, an Old East Dallas bar. Rainbow Cat’s food is available in the bar at 4800 Bryan St., Dallas, open five days a week after 5 p.m., closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The menu will be available for dinner and late-night service, Wednesday through Sunday.
Menu and service highlights
The Rainbow Cat concept is described as a casual and ever-changing restaurant-within-a-bar. Dishes on the Rainbow Cat menu include chicken nugs and a bowl of cereal featuring house-made Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Inside Saint Valentine, the menu adds unique offerings such as Spam and pastrami musubi and shrimp toast on house-made focaccia. One standout item is the Unicorn Dog, a house-made sausage served with crispy rice, pickled peppers, and hot mustard.
Style and culinary approach
Norris describes the menu as nostalgic comfort food that chefs want to eat. She is known for her focus on foraging, fermentation, and low-waste cooking techniques. She incorporates elements of creativity and nostalgia into her dishes, such as a peanut butter chocolate bar topped with potato chips and glitter.
Operations and future plans
The Rainbow Cat menu will change frequently, with new additions like pizza and to-go brunch cocktails in the works. The restaurant’s concept allows Norris to experiment and develop dishes without the constraints of a traditional menu, and the smaller residency model is intended to support rapid iteration and playful menu shifts.
Background and context
Chef Misti Norris’ previous restaurant, Petra and the Beast, closed in late December 2024 after seven years of operation. Petra and the Beast moved to a larger Lakewood location in 2023; Norris said the move lost the soul that made it special. The transition to Rainbow Cat reflects Norris’s desire to create a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere for dining, departing from the fine-dining format of Petra and the Beast.
Norris previously tested the Rainbow Cat concept as a pop-up at Midnight Rambler in 2021 and 2022. She also holds the position of culinary director at Far Out, a bar and restaurant near Fair Park.
Local reception and role within the bar
Gabe Sanchez, owner of Saint Valentine and a former colleague of Norris, believes her menu will enhance the bar’s appeal to the local service industry. Saint Valentine is regarded as a service-industry bar, becoming a space where chefs, servers, and bartenders come to socialize after work. The residency model aims to strengthen that role by providing dinner and late-night food options that cater to people who work in the local hospitality scene.
Why this matters
Rainbow Cat represents a shift in format for Norris from a destination fine-dining restaurant to a nimble, comfort-driven operation inside an existing neighborhood bar. The move allows for experimentation with menu items and service windows while maintaining a lower-overhead presence in a bar environment where late-night service and social gathering are already established.
FAQ
Where is Rainbow Cat located?
Rainbow Cat has a permanent residency inside Saint Valentine, an Old East Dallas bar.
When is Rainbow Cat open?
Rainbow Cat’s food is available in the bar at 4800 Bryan St., Dallas, open five days a week after 5 p.m., closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
What are the service hours for Rainbow Cat?
The menu will be available for dinner and late-night service, Wednesday through Sunday.
What kinds of dishes will Rainbow Cat serve?
Dishes on the Rainbow Cat menu include chicken nugs and a bowl of cereal featuring house-made Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Are there unique menu items tied to the Saint Valentine location?
Inside Saint Valentine, the menu adds unique offerings such as Spam and pastrami musubi and shrimp toast on house-made focaccia.
What is a notable signature item?
One standout item is the Unicorn Dog, a house-made sausage served with crispy rice, pickled peppers, and hot mustard.
What is Misti Norris known for in her cooking?
Norris is known for her focus on foraging, fermentation, and low-waste cooking techniques.
How does Rainbow Cat differ from Petra and the Beast?
The transition to Rainbow Cat reflects Norris’s desire to create a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere for dining, departing from the fine-dining format of Petra and the Beast.
What is Petra and the Beast’s status?
Chef Misti Norris’ previous restaurant, Petra and the Beast, closed in late December 2024 after seven years of operation.
Did Petra and the Beast relocate before closing?
Petra and the Beast moved to a larger Lakewood location in 2023; Norris said the move lost the soul that made it special.
Has Rainbow Cat been tested before?
Norris previously tested the Rainbow Cat concept as a pop-up at Midnight Rambler in 2021 and 2022.
Will the Rainbow Cat menu change?
The Rainbow Cat menu will change frequently, with new additions like pizza and to-go brunch cocktails in the works.
Does Norris hold other roles?
Norris also holds the position of culinary director at Far Out, a bar and restaurant near Fair Park.
How is Saint Valentine positioned within the local scene?
Saint Valentine is regarded as a service-industry bar, becoming a space where chefs, servers, and bartenders come to socialize after work.
How does the residency serve Saint Valentine’s clientele?
Gabe Sanchez, owner of Saint Valentine and a former colleague of Norris, believes her menu will enhance the bar’s appeal to the local service industry.
What creative dishes does Norris make?
She incorporates elements of creativity and nostalgia into her dishes, such as a peanut butter chocolate bar topped with potato chips and glitter.
What is the concept purpose?
The restaurant’s concept allows Norris to experiment and develop dishes without the constraints of a traditional menu.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Concept | Casual, ever-changing restaurant-within-a-bar |
| Residency | Permanent residency inside Saint Valentine |
| Location | 4800 Bryan St., Dallas |
| Hours | Open five days a week after 5 p.m.; closed Mondays and Tuesdays; dinner and late-night service Wednesday through Sunday |
| Menu style | Nostalgic comfort food with creative, low-waste techniques |
| Signature items | Chicken nugs; bowl of cereal with house-made Cinnamon Toast Crunch; Unicorn Dog; Spam and pastrami musubi; shrimp toast on house-made focaccia |
| Background | Petra and the Beast closed in late December 2024 after seven years; moved to Lakewood in 2023 before closing |
| Other roles | Culinary director at Far Out, near Fair Park |
| Future plans | Menu will change frequently with plans for pizza and to-go brunch cocktails |
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Additional Resources
- Dallas News: Rainbow Cat Launch
- Dallas Observer: Misti Norris Returns
- Eater Dallas: Misti Norris Pop-Ups
- Paper City: Far Out Dallas
- Dallas Observer: Rainbow Cat at Midnight
- Wikipedia: Culinary Arts
- Google Search: Misti Norris
- Google Scholar: Nashville Restaurant
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Food Service
- Google News: Restaurant News
Author: STAFF HERE DALLAS WRITER
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