Famous Food

They might be located 3,000 miles away from Ground Zero, but the folks at the legendary Los Angeles Canter's Deli want to thank the servicemen of the area ... with tasty, tasty treats.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of September 11, they will be handing out free cupcakes to all firefighters, police officers and military personnel (provided they come in uniform or show some proof of service).

Lemon Basket -- the restaurant that was at the center of the VH1 show "Famous Food" -- is re-opening tonight after being closed for a few days thanks to a little problem ... with cockroaches.

According to our sources, the restaurant -- located on Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood -- was shut down for a couple of days after being cited for health violations involving "cockroach infestation."

But it's all good now -- we're told the restaurant remedied all their issues and is taking reservations for dinner tonight.

It ain't just Whole Foods that has an issue with the ingredients in Bethenny Frankel's Skinnygirl Margarita -- now, a class action lawsuit has been filed against the company that owns the brand.

In the suit, filed in federal court in California, Reneta Bonar claims she and many other people have been duped by Beam Global Spirits for making "deceptive statements" on the label of Skinnygirl.

According to the lawsuit, Beam advertises the drink as "all natural" -- and claims it contains no preservatives. But Bonar says it's all BS because the drink contains a preservative called sodium benzoate.

Skinnygirl was recently yanked off the shelves at Whole Foods -- after the market decided the drink was not using all natural ingredients.

Bonar is suing to force Beam to "engage in a corrective advertising campaign" ... and pay unspecified damages.

Beam has issued a statement saying, "In today's litigious society, nothing is surprising. The litigation filed in relation to the labeling of Skinnygirl Margarita is frivolous. We will defend our case vigorously, and we are fully confident we will prevail."

The quack-mouthed bearded face behind Epic Meal Time tells TMZ, he personally comes up with the insane hundred-thousand-calorie recipes on his show -- but here's a shocker ... he has NO pro cooking experience.

Canadian YouTube sensation Harley Morenstein hit the streets in L.A. last night -- admitting, "I'm not a cook. I don't know sh*t about cooking. All I do is make good stuff."

Archbishop Don Magic Juan made it through surgery to remove a blood clot in his leg last week, but now faces a new emergency -- NO MORE MEATLOAF!!

We caught up with Snoop Dogg's spiritual advisor as he was leaving an L.A. hospital -- and the self proclaimed "Cholesterol King" said he's grateful for his health ... but adds, kicking his meatloaf and butter habit is going to be a bitch.

Bethenny Frankel insists she NEVER misled the public about the ingredients in her Skinnygirl Margarita cocktail ... despite the fact it was recently pulled from Whole Foods.

Frankel just posted a statement on her website saying, "We would not sell anything that I don’t personally drink. I’m a natural foods chef and health is a top priority for me and my family."

She adds, "The Skinnygirl Margarita is made with natural ingredients and its label is consistent with U.S. federal regulations, which is why it is carried in stores nationwide and continues to fly off the shelves."

Bethenny concludes, "I built my brand on trust and honesty. I don’t take lightly obvious attempts to put my integrity in question. I will always answer your questions and concerns directly and truthfully."

As TMZ previously reported, Whole Foods yanked the product from its shelves recently ... claiming the drink contains a preservative that is NOT a natural ingredient.

Frankel told The Post, "I'm not making wheatgrass here. If I could put an agave plant and some limes on a shelf I would. [The Skinnygirl Margarita] is as close to nature as possible, while still being a shelf-stable product."

Moments after T.I. enjoyed his first taste of freedom ... he enjoyed the taste of an awesome steak lunch -- specially prepared by his mom and his aunt ... TMZ has learned.

We spoke with the rapper's Aunt Lita ... who says once she learned that T.I. was released ... she and T.I.'s mom pitched in to cook some of T.I.'s favorite things for his bus ride to the halfway house where he'll finish up his sentence.

We're told the meal included steak, collard greens and their "famous" mac 'n cheese.

After T.I. scarfed down the food, he called his Aunt Lita (like a good nephew should) and thanked her for the "amazing" meal.

Aunt Lita tells us T.I. is "in good spirits" ... adding, "He is one of the kindest people I have ever met."

Bethenny Frankel's Skinnygirl cocktail line is under fire -- after the Whole Foods supermarket chain ripped the products from the shelves over a dispute about the ingredients.

According to the Huffington Post, the honchos at Whole Foods claimed they discovered the "natural" ingredients used in the cocktail line aren't natural at all -- and decided to stop selling any more Skinnygirl products.

We spoke to a Whole Foods employee in Michigan who told us products were briefly sold at his store -- but confirmed the line was pulled because "it was learned the ingredients are not natural."

TMZ has placed calls to the people behind Skinnygirl and the honchos at Whole Foods -- so far, no comment from either side.

10:47 AM: A spokesperson for Beam -- the company that owns the Skinnygirl line -- tells us Whole Foods never "pulled" the product, but simply decided not to reorder.

As for the ingredients, the rep tells us, "Skinnygirl Margarita contains very low levels of sodium benzoate (a preservative) so it can stay on the shelves."

Justin Timberlake took a break from movies ... and "SNL" ... and relationship drama -- and finally got back to music last night!!!!!

JT rolled over to his Southern Hospitality restaurant in NYC -- grabbed the mic and put on an impromptu show while tons of crazy fans went nuts ... including Mr. and Mrs. Kim Kardashian.

Judging from the menu above, the guests at Kim Kardashian's wedding dined on a fine meal last night -- but the question is ...

Gerard Butler and a slew of other stars have been sued for allegedly stiffing two former employees out of overtime pay at a Hollywood restaurant the celebs co-own.

The ex-workers -- a cook and a dishwasher -- at Shin BBQ filed the suit today in Los Angeles County Superior Court ... claiming the owners cheated them out of wages, rest time, and meal breaks.

Shin BBQ is a popular Korean barbeque joint in Hollywood ... co-owned by Gerard, Danny and Chris Masterson, Laura Prepon, and several others including Steve Aoki -- whose father Rocky founded Benihana.

The workers are asking for their back pay, other damages, and an order forcing the restaurant owners to open their payroll books.

President Obama's personal credit rating seems to be doing just fine -- because the Commander-In-Chief slapped down some plastic to cover the bill at a burger lunch yesterday ... and tipped more than 35%.

Obama hit up Ted's Bulletin restaurant in D.C. yesterday where he surprised a group of campaign volunteers who had won an essay contest.

Sources connected to the restaurant tell TMZ ... the President ordered a plain cheeseburger, fries, and side salad ... and an ice cold glass of water to wash it down.

We're told Obama asked for the bill personally -- and picked up the tab for the entire group on his credit card. In total, with tip, Obama dropped over $200.

One person who was inside the restaurant tells us, "He couldn't have been nicer."

His restaurants failed miserably just two months after opening their doors -- and now, the winner of "America's Next Great Restaurant" is blaming the entire culinary disaster ... on Chipotle.

Jamawn Woods tells TMZ, Chipotle -- an investor in the NBC reality show -- was supposed to provide a management team to run his three Soul Daddy restaurants for one year ... but they really screwed the pooch.

According to Jamawn, Chipotle hired a bum management team with NO experience cooking soul food OR running a soul food restaurant -- and his restaurants tanked as a result ... closing soon after.

J hasn't filed any legal papers yet -- but he's telling friends ... the show owes him $46,000 for a year's worth of salary ... and still hasn't paid a dime.

A rep for Chipotle tells TMZ, "The Soul Daddy restaurants were generating significant negative cash flows and, after a careful review of the business, the investor group made the decision to close the restaurants."

According to Landry -- the guy who basically cooks everything on the show -- SEVERAL publishers have already approached him about a book deal since "SP" premiered last year ... but he's still weighing his options.

Landry tells us, he's currently compiling a master list of all his recipes -- which includes his most famous dish called "Nutria Sauce Piquante" ... a gumbo made from a semiaquatic rodent called a nutria ... basically an over-sized rat.

Troy says he picked up his recipes while working at his father's restaurant as a kid -- but don't worry ... we're told the cookbook still has kinda normal things ... you know, like deep South chicken (okay, still scary).

The whole ordeal started when Guy's sister Morgan died of cancer back in February -- landing her 11-year old son, Jules, square in the middle of a custody battle between Morgan's parents and the boy's father.

According to a petition for guardianship -- filed by Jules' grandparents -- they claimed the father, Dain Pape, should not get custody because he is "living out of his motor home," and has no income.

But last week , a Marin County judge sided with Pape ... ruling he should have custody -- and the grandparents should hand over Jules.

But since then Pape tells us ... Jules has been vacationing with his uncle Guy on a remote lake in Northern California -- with NO phone service -- and as a result he's been unable to take custody.

Pape says he hasn't driven to the lake because he wants to avoid a confrontation with the family. He simply wants the grandparents to comply with the court order.

We reached out to Guy's reps, but so far ... no response.

A rep for the band tells us the egg stunt wasn't Steve's idea -- that honor goes to a creative fan who posted the challenge on a website ... and word spread FAST.

We're told the band received hundreds of calls, emails, Facebook and Twitter messages BEGGING the frontman to take on the eggs ... and Steve decided that if fans could raise $10k for St. Jude's Children's Hospital ... he would do it.

Smash Mouth launched a fundraising website on Causes.com ... and they've already raised more than $6k in less than 24 hours ... so it's only a matter of time before Steve has a date with destiny.