Star Gazing

The 5 best places in Dallas to spot a celebrity

Here in Dallas, our brand of celebrity generally involves sports figures and chefs, and we spot them around town as they go about their business. We know that Troy Aikman frequents Mi Cocina in Highland Park Village and Dirk Nowitzki dines at Suze. Oh, and Tony Romo got engaged at Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck.

But where in Dallas might you run into a bonafide celebrity as they cruise through the city? Well, we took out the guesswork.

Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek
No surprise that the finest hotel in Dallas, winner of so many national accolades, attracts an A-list clientele. It doesn’t hurt that this actual mansion also sits a bit off the beaten bath, yet it’s close to everything that matters. Among the rich and famous who have slept in these sheets: George Clooney, Hugh Jackman, Hilary Swank, Rod Stewart, Jay-Z, Cindy Crawford, Robert Duvall, Ryan Seacrest, Usher and Billy Joel. We bet they also partook in Bruno Davaillon’s heralded French-meets-Texas haute cuisine.

Al Biernat’s
Al Biernat is the consummate host. And not just for the local heavies who wheel and deal over red wine and steaks at the longtime Oak Lawn favorite that bears his name. Biernat takes pride in luring in boldface names like Charles Barkley, Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis and Danny Glover. If you need more proof, just look at all the signed celebrity photographs plastered on the walls.

Rosewood Crescent Hotel
The Mansion’s sexy sister property also receives regular national attention for its luxurious rooms, stellar service and first-class spa. So, if you’re hoping to spot Josh Duhamel, Jennifer Aniston, Julianne Hough, Adam Sandler, Sophia Vegara, Jennifer Lopez or Kobe Bryant, perhaps you should start staking out this swank Uptown hotel. With Nobu and Palomino — a favorite of short-lived Dallas couple Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom — in the same complex, the Crescent is a no-brainer for a celeb sighting.

Forty Five Ten
Brian Bolke’s temple of style attracts the most well-heeled fashionistas in Dallas. Celebrities also love to browse the racks filled with designer names such as Stella McCartney, Balenciaga, Lanvin and Jean Paul Gaultier. Among the stars spotted here: Martha Stewart, Steven Tyler, Janet Jackson, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Erykah Badu, Linda Gray, Jordana Brewster, Jessica Simpson and Angie Harmon. Plus we have spied former First Lady Laura Bush and her fellow lunching ladies at the T Room.

Village Marquee Texas Grill & Bar
This restaurant adjoining the Highland Park Village Theatre may have lost Top Chef Tre Wilcox, but it gained another in Andre Natera. Besides, the address alone is enough to lure in the likes of local celebrities like Laura and George W. Bush, Mike Modano and Ross Perot. But we’d take a seat at the bar in the hopes of laying eyes on Giada de Laurentiis, Hannah Storm, Adam Richman, Jon Bon Jovi, Owen Wilson or Dallas star Linda Gray.

Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis hit Al Biernat's while they were in town promoting a movie.

unspecified

happy go lucky plano

Dallas neighbor dazzles on new list of happiest cities in America

Photo courtesy of Visit Plano

undefined

A new happiness study has ranked Plano one of the happiest cities in America this year, and it once again landed on top as the happiest city in Texas.

Plano has moved up on the list and ranks as the 16th happiest U.S. city in 2026. Last year, it was 17th.

WalletHub determined the happiest cities in America based on 29 relevant metrics based on "positive-psychology research" across three main categories: emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment, and community and environment. As with most WalletHub studies, it compared the 182 most populous U.S. cities.

Fremont, California claimed the top spot as the happiest city nationwide for another year. Bismark, North Dakota and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectfully, rounded out the top three.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Plano across the three key dimensions:

No. 15 – Emotional and physical wellbeing
No. 22 – Community and environment
No. 72 – Income and employment

Plano and its residents have continued improving their city year after year, whether its through opening new bakeries and restaurants, inviting fun pop-ups for locals, or having a strong job market.

Plano's happiness far outshines the rest of North Texas; according to WalletHub, Irving is the 70th happiest city in the country, the third-happiest in Texas, and the second-happiest city in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Garland ranked farther behind as No. 92 nationally, and more DFW cities ranked even lower: Grand Prairie (No. 106), Dallas (No. 111), Fort Worth (No. 113), and Arlington (No. 119).

The report additionally found that Dallasites spend the third-most amount of time at work in the nation. The city ranked No. 180 in the national analysis of U.S. cities with the "fewest work hours."

WalletHub also emphasized that money doesn't buy happiness — after a certain point.

"For decades, researchers have explored the science of happiness and identified several core factors, including mental well-being, physical health, strong social ties, job satisfaction, and financial stability," the report said. "Still, income has its limits — studies show that earning more than $75,000 a year does not lead to greater happiness."

Six-figure earners in Plano aren't necessarily as happy as those who don't make as much, as a separate financial study from SmartAsset revealed these big earners are only taking home about $72,653 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 39 – Austin
No. 128 – Houston
No. 135 – Lubbock
No. 137 – El Paso
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 150 – Brownsville
No. 154 – San Antonio
No. 155 – Corpus Christi

wallethub plano reports