Delicious: Small Brewpub

House pasta with malfatti, rye meatball, sunchoke and ham ($10): Photo by Kathy Tran

Dallas food critics adore chef Misti Norris and her adventurous menu at Small Brewpub. Beer connoisseurs come from halfway-to-Oklahoma to taste the pub’s own brews. And now the pub’s partners aim to make their place a live-music destination. Music always has been in the plans for Small. Even before they opened, the owners threw backyard parties and passed the hat for the bands they invited to play. Soon after their bar and restaurant opened, they began jazz nights on Tuesdays. Then they threw a party on their back patio with live rock bands. And this month, they are putting on a block party with three bands performing. They plan to turn an adjacent space into a listening room over the next year, says partner Daniel Bowman. “In general we need more small rooms in Dallas,” Bowman says. “But especially Oak Cliff.” He hopes to book bands that don’t have a big enough following for the Kessler Theater. Much like the Kessler, they’ll only book bands they love. “We’ll have shows maybe once a month,” he says. “They will all be really good so you’re not just filling a calendar.”