This week's hot headlines

World's 'rudest' diner sasses up this week's 5 hottest Dallas headlines

Karen's Diner is coming to Dallas.

Karen's Diner

Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines. Looking for the best things to do this weekend? Find that list here.

1. Diner featuring the 'world's rudest service' will pop up in Dallas. An innovative and sassy foodie tour is coming to Dallas: Called Karen's Diner, it's an Australia-based theme restaurant on tour across the U.S. that's like a cross between a restaurant pop-up and theater, and it's coming to Commerce Street for two nights in September.

2. Cowboys greats team up to score $2 million at 2023 Children's Cancer Fund gala. Sports stars, big celebrities, and generous philanthropists came together April 21 to "light it up" for kids who've experienced some darkness in their lives. Cowboys QB (and reigning NFL Man of the Year) Dak Prescott teamed up with Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman for a winning event.

3. Dallas' newest beer garden opens in Richardson with wink to major freeway. There's a new beer garden in Richardson: Called Old 75 Beer Garden, it's an outdoor retreat located at 740 S. Central Expwy., next-door to (and from the same owner as) Richardson Restaurant Park. Named for the freeway that it's adjacent to, the venue opened on April 21.

4. Luxe downtown Dallas hotel makes top 10 list of best lodgings in Texas. Though we are in the era of short-term rentals, Texas Monthly is out on the prowl to recognize those truly local hotel gems scattered across our wonderfully vast state. And a Dallas hotel has earned a top-10 recommendation spot.

5. Majestic Mad Hatter's takes English garden-party elegance to new heights in Dallas. The big Coronation may be a few days and an ocean away, but Dallas style queens donned their own crowns for a decidedly regal 35th Mad Hatter's Luncheon on April 20 at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Hats for the "Celebration of English Elegance" ranged from grand millinery to fun fascinators to glue-gun gloriousness.

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Tom Cruise News

Tom Cruise to make Dallas BBQ stop while on Mission Impossible tour

Photo courtesy of Paramount

Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning

How's this for a mission impossible? Hollywood legend Tom Cruise is coming to Dallas to eat barbecue, while on a quick Texas tour to promote the latest chapter of his smash film franchise Mission Impossible.

The Top Gun star revealed on Instagram that, as part of a trip to promote Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, he'd be visiting two Texas cities: San Antonio and Dallas.

"On May 22, I'm coming to the great state of Texas," Cruise said in the Instagram video. "I'll be visiting Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio before stopping by some theaters to see you at some of the first screenings of Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning."

After the whirlwind tour through Alamo City, he'll hop on a plane to Dallas.

"We're going to fly to Dallas, where I'm going to get some delicious barbecue before going to more theaters to say hello. And I can't wait," he said.

Unfortunately, for now, he's not saying exactly where.

Which BBQ?
If it's a barbecue joint with buzz he's seeking, that would call for a trip to Fort Worth, whose BBQ scene is currently among the buzziest in Texas — so buzzy, it earned a special category in CultureMap's 2025 Tastemaker Awards, with 12 nominees for Best Barbecue of the year. (It's also what chef Tim Love suggests.)

If he's sticking to Dallas proper and looking for a celebrity-endorsed place, his pick would have to be Slow Bone, the BBQ restaurant recently featured on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. (Slow Bone is all over it with an offer of a Texas nail, their brisket sandwich; Hurtado chimes in and so does Ten 50 BBQ.)

Otherwise, there are older favorites like Pecan Lodge and Lockhart Smokehouse; or two places with Austin roots: Loro and Terry Black's. If he's using CultureMap Dallas' Best Restaurants of 2025 as inspiration, he'll spy Zavala's Barbecue, the family-owned barbecue spot in Grand Prairie, which made the list.

Which movie theater?
Despite its name, The Final Reckoning is not the concluding chapter of the long-running series. In June 2023, Director Christopher McQuarrie told Fandango that the writing team already has ideas for future installments of Ethan Hunt's saga.

Although Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning had its world premiere in Tokyo on May 5 and will screen at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, its official theatrical release is May 23. Sharp-eyed fans might notice several local theaters have matinee showtimes on May 22.

As for which Dallas movie theater he'll visit, if he's going for the best viewing experience, the IMAX at AMC NorthPark or Cinemark Dallas seem like two good bets.

tom cruise mission impossible premieres movies celebrity

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Tom Cruise News

Tom Cruise to make Dallas BBQ stop while on Mission Impossible tour