Best place for Celebrity Sighting

Atlanta’s kinda like the dad from My Big Fat Greek Wedding who thinks everything is Greek. Celebs with tenuous or long-ago links to the metro area are still referred to in the local press as Atlantans. Julia Roberts, Ryan Seacrest, Holly Hunter and John Mayer haven’t lived here for years, but we still call them Atlantans. So what if Sir Elton John spends most of his time in one of his four European homes. He owns a condo in Buckhead, so he’s an Atlantan. Forget about the athletes and hip-hop moguls shopping and supping in Phipps and Justin’s. The best place to find A-list Atlanta celebs is ANYPLACE EXCEPT ATLANTA. less...

DALLAS AUSTIN, dude, what were you thinking? We’ll wait to see whether Austin’s bust earlier this year in Dubai will damage the good-guy reputation the music producer has built in Atlanta, or if the escapade turns out to be his own little Teflon hit. But it certainly was handy to be able to call for help from high-powered Atlanta entertainment attorney Joel Katz, who in turn fetched assistance from ultra-conservative Sen. (and Mormon Church crooner) Orrin Hatch. Austin ended up with a pardon and quickly got a ticket out of the Persian Gulf emirate. Sometimes — especially when you do something really, really dumb — it pays to have friends in high places. less...

The logic is simple: Celebrities wear sunglasses, so you'll find celebrities at the sunglass shop. And in Atlanta, there's no better place for stargazing than at the SUNGLASS HUT OF LENOX SQUARE. Best bet? Weekday mornings when the crowds are slim. Employees are used to the hard-to-place face (or height) of a basketball or football player, as well as familiar ones like Derek Jeter looking for their Prada or Versace. But on occasion there's also a list of sundry other part-time Atlantans like T-Boz or Chili from TLC or OutKast's Andre and Big Boi. Even if she doesn't make it inside the store, you may see Destiny Child's Beyonce just window shopping. "3393 Peachtree Road. 404-237-0931. "www.sunglasshut.com. less...