Shiny, new and surrounded by buzz: Dallas restaurants love being all three, and with a sprawling metroplex in which to spread out, classy strip mall dining isn't even an oxymoron these days. But we promise we're not just being contrarian when we give this year's best new restaurant award to an old one—The Green Room. Throughout the '90s and early aughts, the upscale Deep Ellum restaurant served hordes of live music fans before shutting down. Its empty shell loomed over Elm Street for four years until this summer, when managing partner Taylor Allday brought the place—and the block—back to life with a seasonal menu that pays respect to old favorites (mussels!) and cooks up brand new ones (root beer crème brûlée!). Trust master chef Joel Harloff with a "Feed Me, Wine Me" tasting menu. Soft-opening samples of quail, pork tenderloins and spinach salads have inspired us to happily hand over our palates to Green Room experts.