Famous Food

Something's rotten in Wendy's ... so claims an evil-doer who is allegedly trying to extort the fast food chain by threatening to release to TMZ video of Wendy's employees prepping rotten tomatoes!

We got a letter from Wendy's legal people ... alerting us of an anonymous individual who is trying to extort a 6-figure sum in return for burying the footage of the allegedly horrendous heirlooms.

According to the letter we got, "The authenticity of the video is in doubt." Interesting language ... it doesn't say it ain't true -- it's just in doubt.

When the leader of the free world is jonesing for comfort food ... he ignores his wife's advice and reaches for a juicy hunk of grilled cow flesh ... so says the man who knows.

White House chef Sam Kass spilled this state secret to our TMZ photog. Fact is ... it doesn't necessarily square with Michelle Obama's campaign for healthy eating.

But Michelle has clearly had an influence on her food guru. Watch the video.

Bill Cosby has been pushing JELL-O products for decades ... and yesterday in New York the living legend finally told the people what they wanna know ... his favorite flavor.

Cosby was cruising around Midtown when Bill revealed which JELL-O product makes his taste buds go zip zop zoobity bop.

So did Bill pick Tapioca? Chocolate? Grape?

Guess you'll have to watch the video to find out.

Justin Bieber must have eaten some bad empanadas in Argentina ... 'cause the singer just revealed he's got food poisoning.

Biebs dropped the crappy news on Twitter Sunday evening, but quickly assured fans his sour gut would not result in any canceled concerts ... at all.

It's one more piece of bummer news for Justin whose current Central and South American tour has been plagued with issues -- like destructive fans, fake hookers, graffiti tickets and hotel problems.

Good thing Pepto-Bismol is global.

Ben Affleck needs his morning coffee -- HE NEEDS IT -- and this week, he proved he's willing to take on a $58 parking ticket to get his hands on a quick shot of the dark stuff.

Affleck and his wife Jennifer Garner rolled up to a Starbucks in Brentwood this week -- but couldn't find a spot to park ... so they risked it and put their Lexus in a yellow zone.

Everybody knows .. the yellow zone is for loading and unloading only, 5 minutes max. But the Afflecks went long ... and a vigilant parking enforcement officer slapped the car with a $58 ticket.

Amber Portwood may be hanging out at a Panera Bread with her ex ... but that doesn't mean they're bangin' again ... this according to Amber and her baby daddy.

Amber and Gary Shirley made it clear outside the tasty food chain in Indiana today ... telling a photog they have no plans to get back together following her exit from prison this week.

As you may recall -- Gary and Amber had an extremely volatile relationship ... Back in '10 Amber was arrested for attacking Gary while MTV cameras were filming for "Teen Mom."

It was a whole thing.

For now, it seems the two are simply trying to get along for the sake of their kid ... but in case that doesn't work out -- hopefully Gary's learned to duck.

Ex "Teen Mom" star Amber Portwood is savoring every moment after 17 months behind bars -- reuniting with her 4-year-old daughter on Monday -- and TMZ has the photos.

As we reported, Amber was originally sentenced to 5 years in an Indiana prison for violating probation in her drug possession case, but she was released early for good behavior and time served.

Sources tell TMZ, as soon as Amber got out she made a detour to a burger joint called Frisch's Big Boy -- and then beelined to see Leah ... who's been living with her dad while Amber was locked up.

Amber's baby daddy, Gary Shirley, currently has full custody ... but we're told she's planning to seek shared custody ASAP.

Charlie Sheen is killing Brooke Mueller with kindness -- at least he really, really wants to -- because he just wished his ex-wife a happy birthday with a special piece of cake (topped with a grenade).

FYI, it's not actually Brooke's birthday (that's in August) but it didn't stop Charlie from writing this message on Twitter, "Happy Bday Brooke. When you're done sucking off the parking lot at Home Depot, why don't ya 'blow' out this candle?"

Now that's love.

Oh yeah, if you recognize the cake ... that's because it's the same cake Charlie got for his recent "Anger Management" party.

The Warlock has returned.

The home of The King .. could become the home of the Whopper ... 'cause TMZ has learned the honchos at BK have made a serious offer on Elvis Presley's former Bev Hills home.

TMZ obtained a letter from Burger King Corp. to Peter Morton -- who owns the 5,367 square foot Elvis Presley Estate in the 90210 -- which states the company's intention to buy the house for a cool $3.69 mil.

The letter reads, "This would be a fast closing within three days and we would be happy to provide you with proof of funds upon request."

BK says if Morton agrees to the sale, the company will "preserve all residential historical value."

Buuuut, there are a few problems -- first, the house isn't really on the market.

Second, Morton bought the house back in December for $9.8 mil ... and there's virtually no chance he's willing to take a $6 million hit on the place.

Sidenote -- the timing of the offer is interesting, 'cause it happens to coincide with the launch of BK's new sandwich, the Big King (Big King ... King of Rock 'n Roll ... we get it).

BK wants to move fast -- really fast. In fact, BK's put a ticking clock on the offer ... it ends at midnight TONIGHT.

"Teen Mom" star Amber Portwood was just released from an Indiana prison ... almost a year-and-a-half after she begged a judge to put her behind bars ... and now she's ready to eat.

Amber was initially sentenced to 5 years in the big house for violating probation in her drug possession case.

The judge had given Amber the choice of going to a drug rehab program instead of prison -- but Amber decided she would rather serve time than do the program.

Now, we've learned the 24-year-old MTV star -- who began her sentence in June 2012 -- was released Monday morning (only 17 months into her sentence).

We're told Portwood was granted early release due to good behavior, time served and the fact that she completed two unspecified prison courses while serving her time.

She walked out of the prison today wearing a grey sweatsuit ... and a smile ... and says the first thing she wants to do as a free woman is "go get something good to eat."

A bouncer wasn't the only person Josh Brolin unleashed his wrath on this weekend -- TMZ has video of the actor going OFF on a taxi driver after rear-ending a cab ... and this time, there was no hugging it out.

The person who shot the video says this altercation went down at a Los Angeles Del Taco drive-thru, some time after midnight Friday morning -- and shortly before Josh fought a bouncer in Santa Monica.

We're told Josh rear-ended the cab while waiting in line to pay at the drive-thru, but when the cabbie tried to swap insurance info ... J.B. got pissed and yelled that there was only a minor scratch.

The cabbie didn't agree and that's when Josh really got angry ... screaming, "you suck as a cab driver" -- and accusing the guy of milking him for money.

We're told Brolin took off when the cab driver pulled forward to clear the drive-thru lane.

Brolin could be on the hook for hit-and-run, but as far as we can tell ... the cab driver has yet to file a police report.

If you're keeping score at home -- that's 2 incidents in one night that could have ended with Brolin in handcuffs.

The woman who called 911 to report the death of "MasterChef" contestant Josh Marks was extremely calm -- considering she just learned there was a dead body in the alley.

TMZ obtained a recording of the 911 call placed after Marks shot himself in an alley in Chicago on October 11.

The woman who calls for help says ANOTHER woman had just rang her doorbell and informed her that she had just discovered a dead body, but she was too afraid to call police.

But the caller, with nerves of steel, calmly explains the situation to the 911 dispatcher -- who sends responders to the scene.

When cops arrived ... they discovered the body was the 7'2" chef -- who shot himself in the head after learning he was suffering from schizophrenia.

Marks was 26.

Olympic gold medalist and failed reality star Ryan Lochte still has tons of cash -- or maybe just sucks at math -- because he just dropped a 200% tip at an expensive Las Vegas steakhouse ... TMZ has learned.

Sources at Andiamo Italian Steakhouse in the D Casino & Hotel tell us, Lochte stopped by with a bunch of dudes Wednesday night and ran up a $314 tab -- on top of which Lochte added gratuity of $606, for a grand total of $920.

We're told Ryan -- whose reality show "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?" was canceled after one season -- asked all the waiters to split up the ridiculously generous tip evenly.

But we know ... you're still wondering why Lochte's pockets are so damn fat?

Our sources say he had just won big at the roulette table before dinner and was feeling pretty flush. Ain't no money like house money!

GHOSTS ARE REAL ... and they love soup ... so says master of all things paranormal, Gary Busey!!!

Busey was leaving a Ralphs grocery store in Malibu yesterday when we asked if he's ever had an experience with the undead -- and boy, did he ever!!!!

"I had a ghost one time come out of a big plate of soup I had ... it was called a soup ghost."

It gets better -- watch the clip.

Guy Fieri got into a nuclear fight with his hairdresser Saturday ... and it was caught ON VIDEO.

The video -- obtained by TMZ -- shows Ariel Ramirez punching Guy through the open door of the SUV, swearing at him. You also see Guy kicking him. Ariel is so mad, he cries uncontrollably during the fight.

Although you don't see how the argument ends, we're told Guy threw Ariel out of the SUV. Guy's manager then jumped out and he took Ariel home by cab.

Sources close to Guy tell TMZ ... They were coming from San Francisco International Airport, where they had just landed. We're told they had all been drinking on the flight and used a car service to take them home.

As for how the argument happened ... we're told it was about nothing. One source said, "It was just dudes being dudes." It escalated into a physical fight.

A rep for Guy tells TMZ, "A bunch of guys were messing around. Things got a little out of hand, but they're all good now."

Conrad Murray is getting just what the doctor ordered -- his mother, who flew in from Trinidad to make him a delicious, home-cooked meal.

We've learned Murray is spending time at an undisclosed location with GF/baby mama Nicole Alvarez, their kid and Murray's mother, Milta. The mom flew in and greeted Murray hours after he left L.A. County Jail.

Not to be outdone by Murray's post-jail In-N-Out run, Milta cooked the good doc chicken curry and roti, a flat bread.

Murray is trying to figure out whether he'll stay in California or go back to Texas.

As we previously reported, Murray wants to practice medicine again, but our medical board sources say that's not gonna happen. He also wrote a big chunk of a book in jail and we're told he's open to doing a reality show.