If there's one word to describe Austin, Texas, it's quirky—but in a good way. Shopkeepers exude an independent spirit. Over 200 live music venues suit a myriad of tastes. The list of top-ranking restaurants includes slick boîtes and hole-in-the-wall shacks. Austin is the capital of Republican Texas, and yet the city itself is very liberal. And alongside the new residential towers, shopping districts, and strips of chic nightspots downtown, there are places that remind you of Austin's long history. Among them is The Driskill Hotel.

­When 21c Museum Hotel  opened in Louisville, Kentucky in April of 2006 guests and locals alike were thrilled with the new hotel’s seamless melding of art museum (installations in the hotel’s 9,000 square feet of gallery space have included pieces from living contemporary artists like Chuck Close and Marc Swanson as well as John Waters and Mikhail Baryshnikov —most from the private collection of owners Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson) with fine dining and luxury boutique hotel rooms.  Not to mention the four foot tall bright red polyethylene penguins that seem to move around each floor—and even into your room—of their own volition.

Usually when celebrities dabble into the restaurant business, it's a recipe for a disaster (does anyone remember Britney Spears' ill-fated restaurant within the Dylan Hotel in New York?) but there are a few which do work: Michael Jordan's steakhouse and Ashton Kutcher's Dolce Enoteca are two of the better ones. The latest celeb to take the culinary plunge is Sandra Bullock, who recently opened Bess Bistro in her native Austin. The restaurant serves a mix of American comfort food with French brasserie fare in a casual setting. On the menu there's shepherd's pie, grilled salmon, steak frites and croque monsieur. And who knows? You might even get to have a Sandra Bullock sighting. Bess Bistro on Pecan, 500 West 6^thStreet, Austin, Phone: (512) 477-BESS.