Famous Food

NBC and Bravo got together with major cruise lines and ripped off the idea for a "Top Chef" special from 3 producers who are now suing the networks ... and crying racism -- this according to a new lawsuit.

According to the court docs ... the three accusers pitched a reality show called "Walk the Plank" to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Celebrity Cruise Lines. Thirteen chefs would compete against each other on a cruise ship with the winner becoming the ship's Executive Chef.

The cruise lines rejected the idea, but soon after that NBC announced the release of "Top Chef - Chefs At Sea" -- in conjunction with the cruise companies ... according to the docs.

The producers say they're especially galled by the alleged screw job because they say NBC's networks have an agreement with the National African American Leadership Organizations to increase diversity.

NBC hasn't responded to a call for comment.

The producers not only state in the docs that 2 of them are African-American -- they add that even though the third producer is not ... she is married to a Black man.

Lisa Vanderpump's famous Bev Hills restaurant Villa Blanca has been hit again with a sexual harassment suit.

Pastry chef Martha Diaz filed a lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- in which she claims her manager touched her vagina, called her a fat, ugly whore, showed her porn on his phone and left pornographic pics in her locker.

Diaz claims she complained to upper management and does not mention the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star by name, although she does say she complained to "upper management and ownership."

Lisa Vanderpump is selling Villa Blanca, the restaurant she made famous on "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," TMZ has confirmed.

Real estate sources tell TMZ ... Hilton & Hyland -- as in Rick Hilton -- has the listing.

Lisa is coy about the sale, telling us she merely wanted an appraisal because people have expressed interest in buying the joint. But our real estate sources say Hilton & Hyland have the deal and are actively looking for a buyer.

The move comes weeks after the restaurant was socked with a $100,000 punitive damage judgment. Former waitress Karina Bustillo won that plus another $6K in her sexual harassment lawsuit.

Kandi Burruss' backstage demands are HILARIOUS ... whatever you do, don't screw with her Popeyes fried chicken!

TMZ has obtained a copy of Burruss' contract rider ... listing her demands for the touring production of her musical show, "A Mother's Love" ... and she's VERY picky.

When it comes to food ... the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star demands Popeyes fried chicken. The contract states: "Please do not substitute for KFC or Churches, we know the difference."

But ... even though she won't eat KFC birds ... she insists on KFC cole slaw.

Burruss is just as finicky about her bathroom requirements ... a brand new toilet seat for starters -- which must be installed under the supervision of the road manager or an assistant. Plus, the bathroom must be fully stocked with Cottonelle toilet paper and Dove soap.

Other demands:

-a black Mercedes Benz Sprinter
-golf carts and umbrellas in case of rain
-a police escort to skirt traffic jams -- because "under no circumstance shall Kandi be delayed arriving at or departing" from the venue.

Aretha Franklin had a malt-down at a Johnny Rockets in Niagara Falls ... after one of it servers screamed at her for trying to eat her takeout order inside the restaurant.

Franklin ordered a burger to go from the popular chain after her sold out show Tuesday ... then sat down to eat ... and that's when she claims the server went off, saying her conduct violated the take-out policy.

Franklin said the worker was "very rude, unprofessional and nasty."

Johnny Rockets is contrite ... apologizing for the actions of the new employee ... adding the server has been spoken to and educated on its takeout policies.

Billy Bob Thornton pissed off the cast of "Cupcake Wars" when he ripped their show -- and reality TV in general -- for being a waste of airtime, but now that they're fighting back ... he's going soft.

The actor said a mouthful about the cupcake show on his recently aired episode of "Oprah's Master Class" -- such as, "Seriously, it's not that G** damn dangerous to make a cupcake."

But last night when we caught up with Billy Bob he kinda backpedaled, and said the 'Cupcake' peeps need to chill ... he was just trying to be funny. Watch the clip though -- there is one thing he's owning. Fair to say, he won't be tuning in to Food Network anytime soon.

Thing is ... Billy's commentary WAS funny as hell. Too bad he's not standing by it.

Mykelti Williamson won't step foot in the restaurants named after his most famous character ... because he's got issues with corporate giant Viacom.

Of course Mykelti played Bubba in "Forrest Gump" -- which inspired the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. chain of restaurants, so we brought it up with him at LAX on Tuesday ... only to discover he's NEVER eaten there.

MW first told us how he celebrated the recent 20th anniversary of 'Gump' -- but quickly launched into a rant about the movie studio's parent company and its ties to the restaurants, and big oil ... of which he's not a fan.

Only problem is he's mistakenly referring to Gulf Western Oil, which has nothing to do with Viacom. A company called Gulf + Western DID merge with Paramount (and eventually Viacom) ... but is NOT an oil company.

Glad we could clear that up. Now make a reservation, Mykelti.

DMX is a dog food connoisseur ... appreciating the nuances of dry vs. wet.

The dog-lover/rapper was on his way out of LAX when we asked if he'd ever sampled dog food.

X gave an educated answer from experience. He also had a strong, quick opinion on the healthiest canine food for human consumption.

Britney Spears just brought a piece of Vegas to the Cheesecake factory she stiffed ... because her waitress just hit the jackpot.

TMZ broke the story, Britney chewed and screwed Sunday when she walked out of the Thousand Oaks, CA restaurant without paying her $30 bill for an appetizer and salad. Britney says she thought her security guy paid the tab and he thought she did.

Now she's bringing in the ultimate peacemaker to make things right -- Benjamin Franklin. Our Britney sources tell us the waitress is getting a $100 tip -- more than 300%. That's on top of the $30 tab.

We're told Britney -- who left with hard evidence of her heist (a doggie bag) -- felt terrible about the mistake.

Britney -- she stiffs good.

Charlie Sheen worked the Taco Bell drive-thru recently -- and by that we mean he worked the crowd trying to score some late night, post-boozing grub.

Charlie admitted he was "hammered" … which was nice of him, but really not necessary -- since it was blatantly obvious from his appearance alone!

Charlie Sheen videos don't get any more REAL than this -- it's Charlie totally blitzed in the middle of a late night Taco Bell run ... and he looks and sounds EXACTLY the way you'd think.

The clip starts with a totally disheveled Charlie stumbling over to a car at the drive-thru -- looks like the driver called him over -- and the Ma-Sheen quickly unloads this awesome line ... "Sorry, I'm so f****** hammered."

Honesty really is best.

Unclear exactly where and when this went down ... the clip was posted sometime on Tuesday, but it doesn't really matter.

Watch ... the Warlock rips open his shirt, shows off his tatts, and even attempts a little couples counseling.

Looks like Honey Boo Boo may have found her true calling in eating competitions … because you gotta see how she destroyed the field! Not to mention a perfectly good watermelon.

Warning: Some viewers may find these images disturbing. Or maybe hunger-inducing.

Honey Boo Boo absolutely inhaled a giant slice of watermelon, and taught a table full of kids a valuable lesson -- she will RUIN YOU in competitive eating!

It all went down in Panama City, FL -- where HBB and the fam are vacationing -- during a children's watermelon eating contest, and honestly ... Joey Chestnut himself would applaud the 8-year-old girl's performance.

It's clear from the video -- the 7 other kids never stood a chance. Just like that poor, poor melon.

Frank Sivero -- who played Frankie Carbone in 'Goodfellas' -- is suing a guy he says is a real badfella ... a deli owner near the Mexican border.

Sivero claims he went to Deli Belly in El Cajon, CA in March ... where he posed for pics with fans.

According to the lawsuit ... the owner got hold of one of the pics and plastered it all over his website, advertising a Frank Carbone sandwich which is stacked with meats and cheese, including Genoa salami, mortadella, hot cappy, deluxe ham, provolone cheese and lots of other stuff.

The deli owner called the creation the Frankie Carbony. It doesn't seem Sivero is objecting to the name of the hero ... but using his pic has made him hot as branzino grease.

We went to the deli website and it looks like they 86'd Sivero's pic.

Let's hope the suit doesn't kill the sando completely ... cause it sounds amazing.

Chris revealed it's no longer true because he does eat meat, but only things he believes he can kill himself, and as a result his choices are kinda limited. You gotta hear Chris explain what's definitely NOT on the menu.

Shia LaBeouf got crazy way before going to Studio 54 Thursday night. He was caught with his pants down last month outside a restaurant in L.A. -- which is why he's now banned for life.

Shia hit up The Local Peasant in Sherman Oaks ... during his 4 hour visit, LaBeouf meandered to the back of the restaurant ... and the manager got suspicious.

Eyewitnesses tell us the manager followed Shia to the parking lot, where he saw the actor peeing on the wall, so he called LaBeouf out. Shia profusely apologized in an odd rant.

LaBeouf wasn't done ... he went back inside and tried ordering food, but the manager had enough and told Shia to get out. The 2 had words, Shia paid his tab and stormed out vowing never to return.