Chef Misti Norris Transitions to New Culinary Ventures in Dallas

Dallas, October 12, 2025

News Summary

Chef Misti Norris has officially closed her acclaimed restaurant, Petra and the Beast, in Dallas and is embarking on new projects, including a permanent home for her pop-up concept, Rainbowcat, and a role as food director at a new restaurant called Far Out. This shift reflects her desire to focus on hands-on cooking and seasonal fine dining, with an emphasis on connecting with diners through her reimagined offerings.

Dallas — Chef Misti Norris has closed her restaurant Petra and the Beast and launched new projects in Dallas, shifting from a single acclaimed venue to multiple, smaller ventures that reconnect her with hands-on cooking and seasonal fine dining.

What happened

Chef Misti Norris, formerly of Petra and the Beast, closed her restaurant after a run that earned several notable honors, and has moved on to two new projects in Dallas: Serving as food director at a new restaurant called Far Out and Founding a permanent home for her pop-up project, Rainbowcat, at the cocktail lounge Saint Valentine in Old East Dallas. The shift reflects a desire to return to more focused, hyper-seasonal cooking and to rebuild a direct connection with diners.

Key developments

• Petra and the Beast closed after receiving industry recognition, including Esquire’s Best New Restaurant list in 2018, Bon Appétit’s Top 50 Restaurants in 2019, and Several James Beard nominations, such as Best New Restaurant and Best Chef Texas.
• Serving as food director at a new restaurant called Far Out.
• Founding a permanent home for her pop-up project, Rainbowcat, at the cocktail lounge Saint Valentine in Old East Dallas.
• At Saint Valentine, Norris launched an everyday Rainbowcat menu with refined nostalgic dishes and a monthly five-course wine dinner series aimed at reviving elements of fine dining.

Rainbowcat menu and programs

The everyday menu at Rainbowcat focuses on elevated comfort and nostalgia, with items intended to be familiar but made with attention to technique and quality. Menu highlights include:

• Glossed-up TV dinners
• High-quality chicken nuggets
• Scratch-made Cosmic Brownies topped with homemade potato chips
• The signature dish, Unicorn Dog, is a from-scratch sausage on crispy rice shaped like a bun

In addition, Norris has started a monthly wine dinner series at Saint Valentine that will feature a five-course tasting menu highlighting seasonal ingredients. The inaugural wine dinner is scheduled for October 16, priced at $250 per seat, including wine pairings, tax, and tip. Wine for the dinner will be sourced from winemaker Giovanna Bagnasco from the Barolo region of Piemonte, Italy. Tickets for the wine dinners are available online through Eventbrite.

Supporting details

The move away from a single large restaurant was driven by operational and creative pressures. After relocating Petra and the Beast to a larger space, Norris found that the expansion required compromises to meet the demands of a wider audience. That period left her feeling constrained and less able to pursue the highly seasonal, detail-oriented cooking that initially defined her work.

Her current approach splits responsibilities: serving in a leadership role at Far Out while operating Rainbowcat within Saint Valentine allows her to work on smaller menus and to reintroduce formal dining elements through the wine dinners. The monthly dinners are structured to provide a controlled environment for tasting menus and wine pairings, enabling a return to techniques and ingredient focus more typical of fine dining.

Practical information

• Everyday Rainbowcat menu items: Glossed-up TV dinners; High-quality chicken nuggets; Scratch-made Cosmic Brownies topped with homemade potato chips; The signature dish, Unicorn Dog, is a from-scratch sausage on crispy rice shaped like a bun.
• Wine dinner format: Five-course tasting menus that highlight seasonal ingredients.
• Inaugural dinner: The inaugural wine dinner is scheduled for October 16, priced at $250 per seat, including wine pairings, tax, and tip.
• Wine source: Wine for the dinner will be sourced from winemaker Giovanna Bagnasco from the Barolo region of Piemonte, Italy.
• Tickets: Tickets for the wine dinners are available online through Eventbrite.

Background

Petra and the Beast rose quickly to national attention under Norris’s leadership, earning spots on major critics’ lists and drawing James Beard nominations. The accolades included Esquire’s Best New Restaurant list in 2018, Bon Appétit’s Top 50 Restaurants in 2019, and Several James Beard nominations, such as Best New Restaurant and Best Chef Texas. The restaurant’s move to a larger venue expanded capacity but also required menu and service changes that, according to Norris, diluted the focus that had driven the original success.

Her new model splits creative work across a cocktail lounge residency and a food-director role, enabling smaller, seasonal plates at Rainbowcat and curated tasting experiences at the wine dinners. The arrangement aims to balance accessibility with a return to the disciplined, ingredient-driven cooking associated with fine dining.

Deeper Dive: News & Info About This Topic

HERE Resources

Chef Misti Norris Launches Casual Dining Concept Rainbow Cat

Additional Resources

• Dallas Observer: Chef Misti Norris Channels Petra and the Beast
• Dallas Observer: Best Restaurants in Dallas
• Dallas Observer: Best Taco Shops in U.S.
• Wikipedia: Fine Dining
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Dining

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