Famous Food

Hooters claims another restaurant chain stole its trade secrets ... no, not chicken wings ... it's another part of the bird.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Hooters claims a former VP defected to a competing company -- La Cima Restaurants, LLC which is now developing a competing boob-intensive chain called "Twin Peaks" -- but before he left he allegedly pilfered some highly-sensitive documents which serve as a business road map.

Hooters contends Joseph Hummel, the alleged Benedict Arnold of large and often artificial brests, is now in possession of plans related to management, recruitment, distribution and sales. As for recruitment, we're thinking it should be kinda obvious.

Hooters wants a judge to order La Cima to fire Hummel and to ignore whatever they now know about Hooters based on the sensitive documents. Good luck with that one.

It's only been a few hours since T.I. was officially declared a free man -- and his family is already throwing together a "welcome home" party for the ages ... filled with mountains of Southern-style cooking.

As we previously reported, T.I. was released from an Atlanta halfway house early this morning -- and we're told his aunt and wife whipped up a bomb-ass celebration dinner ... featuring a family-recipe mac 'n cheese, fried and BBQ chicken, fish, ribs, collard greens, salad, and RED VELVET cake.

It's going down any minute now -- and we're told the entire to-do will be potluck style ... with all of T.I.'s close friends and family bringing over even more food.

Consider this feast round 2 -- T.I. celebrated with a similarly soulful meal about a month ago on his way to the halfway house ... before he was thrown back in prison.

The SNACK GOD who invented DORITOS has passed away ... but TMZ has learned his funeral is nacho average ceremony ... 'cause the guy will be buried with 3 FLAVORS of his prized invention.

Arch West -- the 97-year-old ex-Frito-Lay legend -- died last week, and his daughter announced the family plans on "tossing Doritos chips in before they put the dirt over the urn" when he is buried.

TMZ spoke with West's son-in-law ... who tells us the family will use Original, Cool Ranch and Nacho flavored Doritos, since those were West's favorite. He was NOT a fan of the Cheeseburger flavor, so those will not be used.

According to his daughter, West came up with the idea for Doritos during a family vacation to San Diego ... when he discovered a snack shack selling fried tortilla chips in 1961.

An argument outside BOA last night ... Michael Lohan claiming he was puked on ... a witness claiming MiLo was the one who did the puking.

Watch the video and decide ... who puked?

3:30 PM: Multiple sources close to Sarah have contacted us to say she is absolutely NOT anti-gay ... and she had no idea about Chick-fil-A's non-culinary practices. Mystery solved.

On television "Modern Family" star Sarah Hyland, 20, has two gay uncles, but in real life she just attended the grand opening of a new Chick-fil-A restaurant in Hollywood ... an evangelical Christian owned corporation which has been accused of being anti-gay.

Although Chick-fil-A has responded to the homophobic allegations by saying they "serve and value all people," they also routinely contribute to anti-gay organizations like Focus on the Family.

Pro-equality groups aren't happy about the fast food chain's latest outpost and are planning a protest in front of the new Hollywood location on Saturday.

While Sarah may not be aware of the chain's practices, TMZ contacted her rep but have not heard back.

Christina Milian got a little something extra at an L.A. restaurant last week ... after she took a bite of her Kobe beef salad ... and allegedly got a mouthful of ABC gum.

Sources close to Christina tell TMZ ... she was out to dinner at Mexicali restaurant in Studio City ... and halfway through her salad, she felt a weird, chewy substance in her mouth.

Christina spit it out, and looked in horror as she eyed a giant wad of chewed gum. She then made a beeline for the bathroom and threw up.

We're told the restaurant comped her meal. But Christina is still freaked out about what happened, and filed a complaint with the L.A. Department of Health.

TMZ spoke with a rep for the Dept., who confirmed a complaint was indeed filed.

Christina tells TMZ, she's lookin' for a lawyer, but says, "The most important thing to me is to make sure my health is okay. Ever since the incident I have not eaten out."

11:21 AM: Mexicali owner Allen Ravert tells TMZ, “We have been here for over 17 years and always had an A rating from the health department ... We have cameras in our kitchen and didn’t see anything."

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 ...