Famous Food

Mega-producer Mustard just came up with one helluva remix ... not only delivering free meals to those in need, but making sure they're healthy meals.

The hitmaker hopped on "TMZ Live" Monday to talk about his latest venture ... teaming up with his pal, YG, to buy up 7 L.A.-based Fishbone Seafood restaurants. But, the partnership doesn't end there. The L.A.-native ballers also partnered with Postmates to give back to their community ... delivering $100k worth of free food to L.A. residents and community organizations.

Check out the video and the pics ... Mustard said he wanted to lead by example and give back to his community, never forgetting his roots. The producer says he's not doing this for the praise. Far from it. It's about showing kids that those who make it out have a responsibility to give back.

Mustard -- who BTW, earned the stage name because his first name is Dijon (as in Dijon mustard, get it?) -- is also looking much different these days. Dude tells us being locked up in quarantine is what triggered the transformation ... with an assist from one of his camera guys.

NYPD brass reportedly cooked up a story about officers getting poisoned at Shake Shack  ... because the trio of cops who complained about a funny taste in their milkshakes never even got sick.

The cops in the middle of the "poisoned" milkshake conspiracy were not targeted by rogue, police-hating Shake Shack workers as the NYC Detectives' Endowment Association would have you believe.

According to the NY Post ... the 3 officers from the Bronx were on protest duty in Lower Manhattan when they ordered the shakes. Mind you, the cops used a MOBILE APP to order the drinks, which were packaged and awaiting pickup -- so employees wouldn't even have known the shakes were for cops.

The worst thing that happened to the cops was reportedly a bad taste in their mouths after gorging on the shakes. So, they tossed 'em and alerted a Shake Shack manager, who said sorry and made good with vouchers for free food and drink, which the officers accepted.

Would you accept free food and drink from a burger joint you thought "poisoned" your order on purpose?!? Didn't think so.

According to the report, things got hairy when the cops told their sergeant about the shakes, and the sergeant sent the Emergency Service Unit to set up a crime scene at Shake Shake for an evidence search, some 2 hours after the cops' first sip.

Meanwhile, the cops were rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where they were reportedly examined and sent on their merry way without ever showing the slightest of symptoms.

At the same time, a lieutenant from the Bronx fired off an email to the police unions falsely claiming 6 officers "started throwing up after drinking beverages they got from shake shack on 200 Broadway."

Detectives were put on the case, but it was apparently pretty easy to solve after reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing 5 employees. The report says video showed the shakes were normally made. No poison or funny business.

The reason for the bad taste seems to have been from a commonly used cleaning solution that wasn't thoroughly rinsed off the milkshake machine.

But, for some reason, the mounting evidence of a big nothing-burger didn't stop the NYC Detectives' Endowment Association from declaring cops were "intentionally poisoned by one or more workers at the Shake Shack" and fell "ill."

And, the evidence, or lack thereof, didn't stop Police Benevolent Association president Pat Lynch from making a show of visiting the cops in the hospital at the same time his union claimed police were "under attack" from a "toxic substance, believed to be bleach."

The since-deleted social media messages initially spread like wildfire, causing the burger joint to trend overnight and birthing the #BoycottShakeShack hashtag, which is still being tweeted by accounts.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison finally tweeted 8 hours after the alleged incident there was "no criminality" and it was all much ado about nothing. Literally nothing. Zip. Nada.

With egg on their face, the police unions eventually deleted their tweets and put out statements walking back their claims.

Joey Chestnut is BUMMED there won't be fans at this year's Nathan's Hot Dog Contest, but there's a huge silver lining ... Jaws says the conditions are ripe for a NEW WORLD RECORD!!

Chestnut -- the greatest competitive eater of all time and 12-time Nathan's champ -- currently holds the record for most dogs devoured in 10 minutes ... 74 in 2018's contest.

But, Joey tells TMZ Sports come July 4 -- thanks to the competition being moved indoors without fans 'cause of COVID-19 -- he's primed for a record-shattering performance.

"There's a little bit of a bonus 'cause we're gonna be eating in air conditioning and they're less eaters, so they're making less hot dogs so they might taste better," Chestnut says.

"There's a good chance that we might have better conditions for a world record and I'ma be pushing for it."

FYI, the hugely famous contest usually takes place on NYC's Coney Island. New York City in July = insane heat and humidity ... making it difficult to scarf down pounds of meat.

But, with the changes, Joey's confident he will set a new record ... but how many more wieners can a human possibly scarf down in only 10 minutes?

"I'm breaking the record this 4th of July! This is gonna be a weird 4th of July, but I'ma make it memorable. My record 74, 75 just sounds like a good number but we'll see," Chestnut tells us.

"If I'm feeling it, if I'm in the perfect rhythm, 77 is doable."

A man in New York City launched into an epic tirade when he spotted a Black Lives Matter sign at a coffee shop, and his meltdown -- captured on video -- pissed off every other customer.

The guy absolutely berated the barista over the Black Lives Matter sign posted in the front window of Burly Coffee in Brooklyn. The dude also had a major problem with being asked to wear a mask in order to get a cup of Joe.

The standoff went down Thursday morning with the irate customer telling the shop to take down the BLM signage, and the barista firing back he needed to take a hike.

At one point, the man points at the sign and says, "This is the most racist thing out there. I'm not a racist ... this is offensive and I want you to take off this sign."

The poor barista even tried taking the guy to school ... explaining #BLM does not mean all lives don't matter. Then other customers started chiming in, begging the guy to stop causing a disturbance.

The guy refused to leave and argued for more than 10 minutes, before starting to chant "All lives matter." He also claims the pandemic is a hoax, and only sheep wear masks -- aka, the conservative greatest hits.

And, this was all BEFORE he got caffeine!!

Taco Bell might have a supreme problem on its hands ... after firing one of its longtime employees for wearing a Black Lives Matter face covering.

Denzel Skinner was fired after 8 years on the job as a shift leader at a Taco Bell in Youngstown, Ohio after he refused to take off his BLM face covering.

He was told by a supervisor he couldn't wear the face cover but he was adamant Taco Bell's policy says nothing about face covers with messages on them. The one stipulation -- face coverings had to be clean. Skinner explained in a Facebook Live video that he wore the face cover because the surgical masks provided by the joint to employees proved inadequate in warm conditions.

Skinner explained the Taco Bell's air conditioning had not been working ... keeping things hot inside. He said it was extremely difficult to breathe while wearing the surgical mask.

When he walked out, Skinner says a manager told him if he walked out he'd get canned. And, he did. As for why he wore a BLM face covering, Skinner said it was in support of protesting police brutality following George Floyd's murder. He said it was important to speak up.

Taco Bell honchos said in a statement that due to mask shortages, employees are allowed to use their own mask or face covering. The joint said it was "disappointed to learn what took place in Youngstown. We are working with our franchisee that operates this location to understand what happened."

They continue, "While our policies at restaurants do not prohibit Team Members from wearing Black Lives Matter masks, we are working to clarify our mask policy so this doesn’t happen again."

Aunt Jemima syrup is no more -- 'cause the parent company is retiring the image and name after more than a century, while publicly copping to the fact she's a giant stereotype.

The Quaker Oats Company made the announcement Tuesday, saying they were doing away with Auntie. The company explains, "As we work to make progress toward racial equality through several initiatives, we also must take a hard look at our portfolio of brands and ensure they reflect our values and meet our consumers' expectations."

Aunt Jemima's been a thing for more than 130 years now, and its origins are deeply racist. The character is based on an 1800s "mammy" -- a black servant in a white household.

Specifically, Aunt Jemima is meant to portray a real-life woman named Nancy Green, who Quaker had previously described as a "storyteller, cook and missionary worker" ... but failing to mention she was born into slavery.

There's even more controversy surrounding the brand that's been swept under the rug over the years -- like the name Jemima coming from a minstrel-era song, "Old Aunt Jemima."

For the longest time, the Aunt Jemima brand featured a black woman with a headscarf -- but in the '80s ... Quaker switched up her look to appear more modern, decking her out in earrings and pearls.

In the wake of the civil unrest overtaking the country right now, tons of people were calling for Aunt Jemima to be shelved or re-branded. NBC News was first to report her demise.

BTW, folks are now calling for a handful of other brands to be changed ASAP because of the same issue -- among them are Uncle Ben's Rice and Cream of Wheat. It appears Uncle Ben's has gotten the message.

A rep for the brand said Wednesday, "As we listen to the voices of consumers, especially in the Black community, and to the voices of our Associates worldwide, we recognize that one way we can do this is by evolving the Uncle Ben’s brand, including its visual brand identity.”

It's unclear what the evolution of the brand will look like ... but the rep told HuffPost that all possibilities were on the table.

2 Chainz's got more drama over his ATL joint, and this time it's beef with the keepers of Pablo Escobar's name ... who are suing the rapper over the restaurant's name.

Pablo Escobar's family company, Escobar Inc., is suing 2 Chainz for at least $10 million ... claiming his Escobar Restaurant and Tapas -- there are 2 of 'em in Atlanta -- violates federal law with its unauthorized commercial use of the Escobar name and likeness.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, the company's pissed 2 Chainz slapped the family name across his famous ATL restaurants, their websites and social media -- not to mention the clothing sold with the restaurant name.

The company says it owns the trademark to Escobar's likeness and 2 Chainz is using the name to generate traffic and sales. The company says, for example, 2 Chainz has Escobar's likeness painted inside one of his joints. They also point to the menu featuring "Escobar Crab Cakes."

Escobar Inc. wants the 8-figure damages, minimum, plus an injunction blocking use of the name and likeness at the restaurants.

As we've reported, 2 Chainz's ATL joints have had plenty of unrelated drama recently, stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

A police officer canceled her McDonald's drive-thru order ... because she feared employees were messing with her food -- so she gave a tearful plea to cut cops some slack ... and show some appreciation.

The officer explains in her selfie vid she just got off a long shift and is very hungry, and all she wants is her McMuffin meal with a coffee ... but it's taking a while ... and she seems to suspect something fishy's going on.

She gives the play-by-play of her order delay, and after finally getting her coffee but still no food, she says she tells the Mickey D's employee to keep it ... because she's too nervous now to eat it.

The cop then breaks down, saying she's never been this anxious in 15 years on the job to pick up a to-go order she can't see being made. She adds ... "I don't know what's going on with people nowadays," and pleads for everyone to give cops a break.

Not just a break ... but also to tell them thank you, because she's not hearing that enough lately.

Of course, this officer's meltdown comes on the heels of 3 NYPD officers who feared they were poisoned by shakes from Shake Shack ... but an investigation proved that wasn't the case.

A trio of cops getting a bad taste in their mouths after downing Shake Shack milkshakes nearly became a flashpoint in the nationwide tensions between police and their communities ... but cooler heads are prevailing.

The burger joint was trending overnight because the 3 NYPD officers were hospitalized after complaining about a funny taste in the shakes they ordered at a lower Manhattan Shake Shack. They reportedly described the taste as bleach, and feared they'd been poisoned.

A letter was sent to members of different police unions making them aware of the sitch. In a since-deleted tweet, the NYC Detectives' Endowment Association straight-up said their boys in blue were "intentionally" poisoned.

The insinuation was cops can't even go for a shake now without being attacked by rogue citizens. Mind you, there was no evidence of that, but take it as a sign of how tense things are these days.

Welp ... an investigation was immediately launched overnight, and NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said Tuesday it was all much ado about nothing.

Harrison says, "After a thorough investigation by the NYPD’s Manhattan South investigators, it has been determined that there was no criminality by Shake Shack’s employees."

As for what exactly happened to the malts remains a mystery. The NY Post reports it appears to be a cleaning solution commonly used that wasn't rinsed off the machine enough.

The good news is all 3 cops were released from the hospital and are expected to make a full recovery -- and Shake Shack said it's committed to getting the full picture out.

The Wendy's in Atlanta -- where a man who fell asleep in his car and essentially received a death sentence by cops -- has been burned down, during a night of protest and civil disturbance.

A video posted on Twitter shows the beginnings of the blaze ... you hear the man shooting the video say, "Look at this white girl. Look at the white girl trying to burn down the Wendy's. This wasn't us."

The fast-food restaurant became a flashpoint Saturday for protests against police brutality and racism.

As TMZ reported all day Saturday, cops got a call that someone in line was sleeping and partially blocking the drive-thru. Cops arrived, and the situation escalated to where Brooks grabbed one of the officer's tasers and began running. As he ran, he appeared to vaguely point the NON-LETHAL weapon behind him, and that's when Brooks was shot 3 times.

The cop involved in the shooting was fired overnight, and the other cop assisting was put on administrative leave. This, as the Police Chief submitted her resignation.

A little perspective ... so in Minneapolis, a call over what at worst was passing a counterfeit bill turned to a brutal murder. And in Atlanta, sleeping in the car ended with death. And, check out the video of a violent confrontation that started with a call that someone might have been smoking weed in a car.

Cities and counties can ban all sorts of police techniques, but until there is a cultural shift, built from the ground up in these departments, where de-escalation becomes the guiding light, this insane violence will continue.

Jason Derulo is feeling accomplished -- and full -- after eating 20 burgers in 2 hours ... and now he's challenging The Rock to a hot dog eating showdown on the Fourth of July!!!

The "Cats" star and "Swalla" singer just set the stage for what could be the biggest celebrity culinary face-off of all time ... calling out The Rock and prematurely declaring victory if they go dog-for-dog on Independence Day.

Jason's fresh off a pretty impressive start ... he challenged himself to eat 22 burgers in 2 hours to celebrate reaching 22 million followers on TikTok -- yes, this is what goes down on the app.

While Jason came up a little short on his burger binge -- eating 20 burgers instead of the full plate of 22 -- he says it made him realize he could be a pretty darn good competitive eater.

Jason's got his work cut out for him -- The Rock is known for his epic cheat meals when he's not getting shredded in the gym -- but he says one of his hidden talents is his massive appetite. Gotta feed that anaconda!!!

A 27-year-old African-American man was shot in the back and killed by Atlanta police Friday night, after someone complained he was sleeping in his car at a Wendy's drive-thru.

TMZ obtained video of what went down around 10:30 PM ... cops got a call that the car in which the man was sleeping was blocking other cars in line. The other customers could still pick up their food ... they just had to go around him to the window.

According to the police report, 2 officers tried placing Rayshard Brooks under arrest -- after they say he failed field sobriety testing. In the video, you can see the officers wrestling with Rayshard on the ground for nearly 30 seconds.

When Rayshard stood up, cops say he had taken a taser from one of the officers -- the other cop opened fire with his taser, and Rayshard started running away. Both cops started chasing him from behind ... and within seconds 3 shots were fired at Rayhsard.

He was taken to a hospital where he died during surgery.

Additional details surrounding the shooting are unclear. The GBI said one of the APD officers suffered minor injuries ... he was treated at the hospital and released.

Several bystanders witnessed the incident and were enraged and yelled at the cops moments after the shooting.

This is reportedly the 48th officer-involved shooting the GBI has investigated this year.

Starbucks is now saying "my bad," and will allow employees to wear Black Lives Matter attire ... after getting intense backlash for banning it.

The coffee store giant announced Friday morning it's reversing its policy prohibiting workers from wearing anything highlighting the Black Lives Matter movement. And, to take things a step further ... Starbucks will distribute 250k BLM themed t-shirts to its employees.

The move comes just days after Starbucks said it feared employees wearing BLM attire could be misunderstood by customers and incite violence. But, after customers called for a boycott, Starbucks is now saying it hears their employees and supports them standing up for justice.

Starbucks announced, "Together with our Black Partner Network, we've designed a Starbucks t-shirt for every U.S. and Canada partner to express our solidarity during this historic time. Until these arrive, we’ve heard you want to show your support, so just be you. Wear your BLM pin or t-shirt. We are so proud of your passionate support of our common humanity."

It should be noted ... Starbucks hands out pins and special attire to celebrate LGBTQ rights and marriage equality even though there's a policy in place against wearing personal, political or religious attire.

It's not the first time Starbucks has been schooled on racial equality. You'll recall back in 2018 the coffee chain closed its stores for anti-bias training after 2 African-American men got hauled off to jail for hanging out and waiting for a friend inside a Starbucks in Philly.

The incident created an uproar and triggered protests.

Ever wanted to stuff your face with a burger filled with cotton candy and Cracker Jacks!?!?

Us neither ... but a South Carolina minor league baseball team is giving you the opportunity to do it anyway -- and it looks as gross as it sounds!!!

(COUNTERPOINT: The person editing this post -- a proud junk food-aholic -- disagrees and thinks the burger looks BOMB AS HELL!! Put it in my faaaaaaace!!!!!).

Here's the deal ... the Charleston RiverDogs have been doing some awesome things during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering food for their community while also providing meals for the needy.

This week, in an effort to spice up their takeout menu at the ballpark ... they concocted a hamburger nobody was asking for -- and they seem proud as hell of it.

The burger features a bun, special sauce, an Angus beef patty, a rich slathering of cotton candy ... and it's all topped off with some flavored Cracker Jacks.

Yeah, ew.

(COUNTERPOINT: Inject this straight into my veins!!!!!)

If that somehow intrigues you ... the team says it'll only cost ya $12.99 -- and hey, it even comes with truffle fries!!!

We'll pass on that one ... but if you don't -- get the dentist appointment ready STAT!!!