Dallas Chef Misti Norris Named Culinary Director at New Restaurant

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Misti Norris is a James Beard-recognized chef whose restaurant, Petra and the Beast, closed at the beginning of this year following a decade-long run. On Thursday, May 8, it was announced that Norris would join Far Out, a restaurant in the space formerly known as Wriggly Tin, as its culinary director. Eater Dallas caught up with her to find out how her new job came to be, what she’s creating for the menu, and what her future plans for a place of her own might be — spoiler alert, Petra and the Beast will not be making a comeback.

Eater: How did your partnership with Far Out happen?

Misti Norris: Chris Jeffers [Far Out’s owner] reached out to me on Instagram when he saw the Petra closure post. We knew of each other because we’re both industry people, but we’d never met. I planned to take three months off [after Petra closed] and do nothing. After a week, like most chefs would, I started getting anxious because I was used to going all the time. It started out as a consulting job. I’ve always been drawn to the outer neighborhoods and building something cool there.

What’s great about working with Far Out is that they understand that I have other concepts that I want to open, which I’m allowed to do. I get to be more of what I’ve always wanted — a teacher who is here to give guidance, maybe to a young chef who has never run a kitchen. I’m excited to be a mentor and not killing myself at my restaurant. After owning my own business for as long as I did, it’s nice because I know the ins and outs of the business side. I’m not just a chef, I understand financials, reservation systems, event planning — all these things I’ve had to learn the hard way.

What was it about Far Out that appealed to you?

They wanted to do something for the community. They took over a block of space near the Fair Grounds, so outside of Dallas proper. I feel like I’ve always been drawn to the outer neighborhoods and building something cool there. They’re building a greenhouse and all these different things. That also appealed to me.

Far Out is near Dallas’s Fair Park.

Far Out

What were your first thoughts upon seeing the small size of the kitchen?

It was a bit of a shock. I feel like I’ve come up in that kind of kitchen, where there wasn’t a lot to utilize and not a big space. The only place I’ve cooked on [an] electric [stove] was in New York, so I’ve done it before. When we know we need to sear something or make a sauce, we put the pans on 10 minutes ahead of time. So it’s not not doable, but having the experience and knowledge that I do of different kitchens, you figure it out.

What’s great about this kitchen is that we don’t have your traditional convection oven; we have a three-deck pizza oven. We can braise and bake, and do so much at one time. It makes cooking more intensive, but also easier.

How did you figure out what food would work there?

Steak and potatoes at Far Out.

Far Out

I started coming up with the menu a few weeks in. They were doing flatbreads and wings, but they expressed that they wanted something more interesting that would appeal to the neighborhood and fit the space. I was consulting at that point, so I was thinking of it like I’m making a menu that someone can come in and take over. I wasn’t doing ferments and using koji [cooked rice or soya beans that acts as a fermentation starter, all the things I’m accustomed to. Once I came in as culinary director, we started restructuring it to add in things I think are important to sustainability and to develop bolder and more dynamic flavors for food.

One of the items we have that I think is fun is steak and potatoes, which is a play on steak frites. On the original menu, there was a potato costra. My first plan was to make loaded fries, but with the changing of the menu, it didn’t quite fit. So, we kept the potato cake, which is an herbed cake with garlic, dill, and chives, and we press it into a rectangle that is fried until it’s crispy. We’re using a Texas wagyu tri-tip that’s marinated in koji, some cognac, and soy. And we made a French onion soup sauce that goes on top of everything. It’s served with a topping of herb salad from Profound Microfarms, and grated Gruyere goes on top.

What does this mean for you doing more pop-ups?

There is more on that, but I can’t say right now. I will tell you, and I am excited about [some upcoming plans]. None of that is going to stop.

Is this experience making you reconceptualize what your career could look like?

When I closed Petra, a big part of my decision was that I knew for myself to grow as a chef and person, I had to let go of it, even though it was so important to my life and shaped my career. It demanded so much from me that I was never going to be able to do the things I wanted to do, which sucks. It was bittersweet.

Part of the appeal of Far Out is the tight-knit family structure. People are not just a number; you’re not just an employee. That is how I ran Petra; that was my family. You don’t find that in a corporate place. A lot of the offers I’ve had, not to say anything bad, have been more Downtown spaces, or corporate, or we want to redo this hotel. And I’m like, No, that’s not what I want to do. [laughs] I’m very choosy about the space that I go into, at this point, and who I work with.

The Petra and the Beast closing notice left us with the impression that it would be back. Is that true?

No. I didn’t think it came off like that, but in that moment, I had so many emotions, so many thoughts, and so much anxiety that maybe I didn’t see what everyone else did. I don’t want to bring Petra back. It was such a special place and time in how it was created and what went into it that I don’t think I can replicate it again. Petra will always be my foundation. Anyone who has followed my story knows I built it from nothing — no money, no experience owning a restaurant. I just did a tasting every week and used that money to buy another table for it. I did it the hardest way possible, and I think that’s why it grew organically into an amazing, beautiful restaurant.

How are you sifting through the offers you’re getting to figure out what is right for you?

I’m still going through that process. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it has only been four months, [Petra closed on] the first of January. At this point, I’m going to pursue a concept that I really love, and I’m going to try to build on Far Out to do the best I can for them and make it a successful business.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Misti Norris is a James Beard-recognized chef whose restaurant, Petra and the Beast, closed at the beginning of this year following a decade-long run. On Thursday, May 8, it was announced that Norris would join Far Out, a restaurant in the space formerly known as Wriggly Tin, as its culinary director. Eater Dallas caught up with her to find out how her new job came to be, what she’s creating for the menu, and what her future plans for a place of her own might be — spoiler alert, Petra and the Beast will not be making a comeback.

Eater: How did your partnership with Far Out happen?

Misti Norris: Chris Jeffers [Far Out’s owner] reached out to me on Instagram when he saw the Petra closure post. We knew of each other because we’re both industry people, but we’d never met. I planned to take three months off [after Petra closed] and do nothing. After a week, like most chefs would, I started getting anxious because I was used to going all the time. It started out as a consulting job. I’ve always been drawn to the outer neighborhoods and building something cool there.

What’s great about working with Far Out is that they understand that I have other concepts that I want to open, which I’m allowed to do. I get to be more of what I’ve always wanted — a teacher who is here to give guidance, maybe to a young chef who has never run a kitchen. I’m excited to be a mentor and not killing myself at my restaurant. After owning my own business for as long as I did, it’s nice because I know the ins and outs of the business side. I’m not just a chef, I understand financials, reservation systems, event planning — all these things I’ve had to learn the hard way.

What was it about Far Out that appealed to you?

They wanted to do something for the community. They took over a block of space near the Fair Grounds, so outside of Dallas proper. I feel like I’ve always been drawn to the outer neighborhoods and building something cool there. They’re building a greenhouse and all these different things. That also appealed to me.

Far Out is near Dallas’s Fair Park.

Far Out

What were your first thoughts upon seeing the small size of the kitchen?

It was a bit of a shock. I feel like I’ve come up in that kind of kitchen, where there wasn’t a lot to utilize and not a big space. The only place I’ve cooked on [an] electric [stove] was in New York, so I’ve done it before. When we know we need to sear something or make a sauce, we put the pans on 10 minutes ahead of time. So it’s not not doable, but having the experience and knowledge that I do of different kitchens, you figure it out.

What’s great about this kitchen is that we don’t have your traditional convection oven; we have a three-deck pizza oven. We can braise and bake, and do so much at one time. It makes cooking more intensive, but also easier.

How did you figure out what food would work there?

Steak and potatoes at Far Out.

Far Out

I started coming up with the menu a few weeks in. They were doing flatbreads and wings, but they expressed that they wanted something more interesting that would appeal to the neighborhood and fit the space. I was consulting at that point, so I was thinking of it like I’m making a menu that someone can come in and take over. I wasn’t doing ferments and using koji [cooked rice or soya beans that acts as a fermentation starter, all the things I’m accustomed to. Once I came in as culinary director, we started restructuring it to add in things I think are important to sustainability and to develop bolder and more dynamic flavors for food.

One of the items we have that I think is fun is steak and potatoes, which is a play on steak frites. On the original menu, there was a potato costra. My first plan was to make loaded fries, but with the changing of the menu, it didn’t quite fit. So, we kept the potato cake, which is an herbed cake with garlic, dill, and chives, and we press it into a rectangle that is fried until it’s crispy. We’re using a Texas wagyu tri-tip that’s marinated in koji, some cognac, and soy. And we made a French onion soup sauce that goes on top of everything. It’s served with a topping of herb salad from Profound Microfarms, and grated Gruyere goes on top.

What does this mean for you doing more pop-ups?

There is more on that, but I can’t say right now. I will tell you, and I am excited about [some upcoming plans]. None of that is going to stop.

Is this experience making you reconceptualize what your career could look like?

When I closed Petra, a big part of my decision was that I knew for myself to grow as a chef and person, I had to let go of it, even though it was so important to my life and shaped my career. It demanded so much from me that I was never going to be able to do the things I wanted to do, which sucks. It was bittersweet.

Part of the appeal of Far Out is the tight-knit family structure. People are not just a number; you’re not just an employee. That is how I ran Petra; that was my family. You don’t find that in a corporate place. A lot of the offers I’ve had, not to say anything bad, have been more Downtown spaces, or corporate, or we want to redo this hotel. And I’m like, No, that’s not what I want to do. [laughs] I’m very choosy about the space that I go into, at this point, and who I work with.

The Petra and the Beast closing notice left us with the impression that it would be back. Is that true?

No. I didn’t think it came off like that, but in that moment, I had so many emotions, so many thoughts, and so much anxiety that maybe I didn’t see what everyone else did. I don’t want to bring Petra back. It was such a special place and time in how it was created and what went into it that I don’t think I can replicate it again. Petra will always be my foundation. Anyone who has followed my story knows I built it from nothing — no money, no experience owning a restaurant. I just did a tasting every week and used that money to buy another table for it. I did it the hardest way possible, and I think that’s why it grew organically into an amazing, beautiful restaurant.

How are you sifting through the offers you’re getting to figure out what is right for you?

I’m still going through that process. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it has only been four months, [Petra closed on] the first of January. At this point, I’m going to pursue a concept that I really love, and I’m going to try to build on Far Out to do the best I can for them and make it a successful business.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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