Famous Food

Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jethro ...

Max Baer, Jr. -- who played Jethro in "The Beverly Hillbillies" -- has a bone to pick with CBS for undermining his plan to create a restaurant empire ... all because of a rib joint in Des Moines.

According to the lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- Max cut a deal with CBS that allowed him to develop a chain of "Beverly Hillbillies" themed restaurants, casinos and hotels. Max claims he had the exclusive right to use the Jethro character and other themes from the show.

So imagine his dismay when he found out about Jethro's BBQ in Iowa. Max says CBS cut a secret side deal with the owners, allowing them to use the Jethro character that Max says was his and his alone.

When you look at the mission statement from Jethro's ... it's pretty clear ... they're taking a bite out of the same rib to which Max laid claim.

Then again ... the people who eat at Jethro's may simply be poor mountaineers who barely kept their family fed.

Johnny Manziel's birthday cake game just went NEXT LEVEL ... 'cause the guy celebrated his big 22 with a 45-pound MONEY CAKE ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Johnny's friends hit up Colossal Cupcakes in Cleveland -- which has baked for stars like Kyrie Irving and Joe Haden -- and ordered up a custom dessert for the new Cleveland Browns starting QB.

We spoke with CC owner Kelly Kandah who tells us it took 2 days to sculpt the double chocolate fudge cake ... which included edible gold bars and gold coins.

Final bill for the 45-pound monster ... $600!

Money.

The wife of Umami Burger founder, Adam Fleischman would like a single to go ... with a side of cheddar, or in legal terms -- she's filed for divorce and wants spousal support too.

Adam's wife Shanna Fleischman filed divorce docs in L.A. County last month, but they separated back in April ... 10 days shy of their 10th anniversary.

The couple have 2 kids who are both minors ... and Shanna's asking for joint legal and physical custody.

It's unclear how much Umami beef is up for grabs in the split. Adam is still CEO of the company which launched in 2009. According to the docs, the exact amount of their community assets is "unknown" at this point.

Their marriage is survived by 24 locations serving juicy burgers ... with really pretentious toppings.

Ariana Grande is an Oval-teen heartthrob ... delivering piping hot chocolate to her freezing fans.

Grande is in London where she performed at Tuesday night's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Her fans are camped outside The Langham Hotel and it is COLD.

Ariana sent down the hot chocolate to warm the throngs ... and they got a signed cup for their support.

Buddy Valastro put his drunk driving case to bed by making a surprise trip to the courthouse ... to plead guilty to driving while drunk.

As a result of the plea, the "Cake Boss" star's license will be suspended for three months, and he has to enter a drunk driving program. He also got a $300 fine.

Valastro says he told the judge he only had one drink before getting pulled over -- but added he'd learned his lesson ... "If you have even one drink you shouldn't drive."

He wasn't scheduled to be in court until February, but after today's hearing he tweeted he went in early because ... "I wanted to make this right."

As TMZ first reported, Valastro was arrested on November 13 after cops noticed the TLC star's 2014 yellow Corvette weaving on 10th Ave in Manhattan.

The guys from Epic Meal Time may be Canadian, but they're still stuffing their faces for Turkey day ... and we guarantee your Aunt Betty won't be making this for Thanksgiving.

Harley Morenstein tells us he was still hungry for holiday meats following T-giving in Canada last month ... so he and the boys decided to film an upcoming episode on America's day of thanks.

The bearded host says they'll be making a "Christmas PoulTree" today ... which is made entirely out of turkey, chicken, duck and quail -- and will feature 5 layers of poultry with bacon strips underneath each.

Oh, and did we mention it will be stuffed with french fry bacon sausage stuffing?

No way to sugarcoat it -- being a polygamist is expensive during the holidays -- but "My Five Wives" patriarch Brady Williams has it more than covered this time around.

Brady has 31 mouths to feed this year ... and the grocery list is both impressive and financially depressing.

• 2 Turkeys
• 1 Ham
• 5 lbs of Yams
• 20 lbs of Mashed Potatoes
• 2 large bowls of Stuffing
• 1-2 gallons of Gravy
• 3 dozen Dinner Rolls
• 5 large Salads
• 1 pot of Corn
• 2 large Veggie Trays
• 1 large Cheese & Cracker Tray
• 1 large tray of Cheese-Stuffed Celery
• 8 cans of Black Olives
• 4 large cans of Stuffed Green Olives (a family fave)
• 1 large jar of Cranberry Sauce
• 4 quarts of Baby Dill Pickles
• 3-4 gallons of Holiday Beverage

Tyga and Kylie Jenner had forbidden love written all over them --well, maybe a little overstated -- as they served up meals for the homeless on Thanksgiving Eve.

The 25-year-old rapper insists he's not romantically involved with the 17-year-old reality star, but there's plenty of smoke ... you'll recall a week ago when he pitched a fit because the club where he was supposed to perform wouldn't let her in because of her age.

Jeremy Lin thinks the cure to frustration is 930 calories of frozen confectionery goodness ... telling TMZ Sports he turns to a McDonald's McFlurry to deal with the pain of a crushing Lakers loss.

Lin was at the annual Lakers Thanksgiving celebration this week to hand out turkeys to the less fortunate when we asked him if he had any guilty food pleasures ... given he's a world class athlete.

The Lakers star admitted that he recently indulged after a particularly tough loss ... and it seems the McFlurry did the trick.

Big Sean just backed up his holiday truck and emptied it on Detroit Tuesday morning ... with 1,000 turkeys.

Sean surprised students at River Rouge High School by handing out turkeys, corn, green beans and sweet potatoes ... then followed it up with a speech to the kids about the importance of giving.

It's the second year Sean's thrown the event, courtesy of his charity, the Sean Anderson Foundation ... and this time he upped the ante by throwing in all the fixins.

Michael Jordan might just be the Magic Johnson of the holiday season 'cause His Airness was assisting hunger left and right earlier Tuesday ... passing out Thanksgiving meals to needy families.

Jordan and his Charlotte Hornets team -- including big man Al Jefferson partnered with Food Lion and soldiers from Ft. Bragg to hand out 1,000 turkey day meals at their annual "Cornocopia" feast in Charlotte Tuesday.

What's on the menu when Jordan is serving? Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, canned vegetables, mac & cheese, cranberry sauce with a two-liter bottle of Sprite for every meal.

No Gatorade, Ball Park Hot Dogs or McDonalds? Mike must really be feeling the holiday spirit.

Thanksgiving shopping can be difficult when the food you're shopping for weighs almost as much as you do ... a lesson Verne Troyer learned the hard way.

Despite having his trusty scooter to aid him, the "Austin Powers" star struggled to wrangle his bird, eventually resorting to just dragging his dinner-to-be across the sidewalk.

Beyonce was not in cahoots with 7-Eleven when she made her new "7/11" video ... so says 7-Eleven.

According to a spokesman for the convenience store giant ... the Slurpee pic she posted on Instagram to promote the vid has the Internet going crazy ... but that was simply Beyonce going rogue, and NOT a marketing ploy for 7-Eleven.

Of course, that's not keeping 7-Eleven from reveling in the afterglow, telling TMZ ... it's clear why she chose their frosty beverage, "because a Slurpee is the coolest drink on Earth."

Brain freeze in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

Jennifer Lawrence cozied up to one of the stars of her favorite show Saturday night in West Hollywood ... and TOTALLY fangirl'ed out.

The "Hunger Games" star hit up Pump with her friends and we're told Lisa Vanderpump hooked JLaw up with the best seat in the house ... and then snapped a pic with the group.

It's interesting ... When the actress walked in no one noticed her and she was seated in the less desirable outside area facing Santa Monica Blvd. When Vanderpump realized what was up, Jennifer was moved to Lisa's personal table.

Jennifer was drinking Pump-tinis and Lisa's Sangria.

Lawrence has confessed she LOVES reality TV ... and the Instagram video makes it clear ... in her head Vanderpump Rules.

Bill Cosby has been taken off Netflix, TV Land and NBC ... but he's still top dog at Ben's Chili
Bowl in Washington, D.C.

The landmark restaurant has 2 favorite sons who can come in anytime they want and eat for free -- Cosby and Prez Obama.

Colin, our photog, paid a visit to Ben's Wednesday and the cashier made it clear ... the restaurant is undeterred by the recent rape allegations ... Cosby gets grub gratis.

BTW Cosby's fav is the 1/4 lb. half pork and beef smoked sausage on a warm steamed bun, topped with mustard, onions and spicy homemade chili sauce. Good comfort food.

A seven-year-old boy should be having his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's, NOT Hooters ... but that's exactly what Dwight Howard's baby mama did for their son's 7th birthday.

"Basketball Wives" star Royce Reed, the boy's mother, posted the photo on her Instagram showing Braylon grinning from ear-to-ear ... and it probably wasn't because of the wings.

As TMZ first reported ... Howard is angling for full custody, while simultaneously being investigated for child abuse.

In court docs, Howard has accused Reed of exposing Braylon to sexual situations. Howard claims his son has witnessed Reed engage in sexual acts with her "numerous companions."

We're told Howard believes this photo is just the latest example of his son being exposed to sex.

A source close to Royce says her son's birthday party was at a Monkey Joe's bounce house earlier in the day -- with his classmates -- and she merely stopped at Hooters for food. The source also says Royce has never had any man in and out of her house, and has never exposed Braylon to sex.