Famous Food

Soccer legend Brandi Chastain's Hall of Fame plaque left a lot to be desired, but luckily ... Arby's came to the rescue!

The fast food sandwich chain went out and found a sauce artist that did a much, much better job capturing the former Team USA star's likeness, saying ... "it’s not made of gold, but we think you look much better in Arby’s Sauce."

We strongly agree.

As we reported ... Chastain was honored with a plaque at the San Francisco Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame induction Monday, but it was pretty horribly done -- people said it looked more like Babe Ruth or Mickey Rooney than her.

One of the 3 women busted at Houston's says the restaurant's flat-out lying with its claim the women ignored warnings to leave before a security guard dragged them out.

Asia'h Epperson -- an actress and former "American idol" contestant -- told us she was shocked the police arrested her and her friends, instead of the guard. She's the one who shot the video of the alleged assault ... which now has T.I. on the warpath.

She says a Houston's staffer gladly let them use the restroom, and never asked them to leave prior to the violent incident.

Asia'h already has a lawyer, and it sounds like a lawsuit's in the offing. She also reacted to T.I. saying he's going Malcolm X on Houston's, and wants to shut down the whole chain.

Most people believe Summa Cum Laude is an honor ... Publix grocery store believes it's obscene.

Case in point ... this cake.

A woman in South Carolina ordered the tasty treat online to celebrate her son graduating from his homeschool program with a 4.79 GPA ... earning Summa Cum Laude honors.

But, when she sent a friend to pick up the cake, the word "Cum" was edited out -- an apparent violation of the grocery store's obscenity policy!!!!

"My son was humiliated," the woman posted on her Facebook page ... "I seriously couldn't make this crap up!!!"

"How utterly ridiculous and I will be speaking to a manager for a refund. Shame on you Publix for turning an innocent Latin phrase into a total embarrassment for having to explain to my son and others (including my 70 year old mother) about this joke of a cake."

FYI, "Summa Cum Laude" is a Latin phrase that means "with highest honor."

Just make sure your safe search is on if you put it in Google ...

6:14 AM PT -- A spokesperson for Batali's brand licensing company tells TMZ, "There have been no sales of Mario Batali sauces by our licensee since December 2017 as retailers discontinued carrying the product at that time. Mario Batali has received no royalty or payment of any kind since that time. We apologize for any confusion and have asked our licensee to take down the website.”

Mario Batali's website claims it struck a deal to donate proceeds from its sauces to a women's group ... but TMZ's learned the organization hasn't received a dime because no deal was ever struck.

We noticed this huge banner posted on mariobatalisauces.com's landing page back in December 2017 shortly after sexual misconduct allegations first surfaced against the disgraced chef. The banner claims the makers of Batali's sauces are donating its proceeds to Women Employed, hailed as one of the nation's most successful advocates for working women.

But, we checked with the organization and a rep tells us, "Summer Garden Food Manufacturing reached out to WE last year about donating proceeds from the sale of its Mario Batali-labeled products to our organization. At no time did Women Employed have a partnership, agreement, or discussion with Chef Mario Batali."

The statement continues, "While WE appreciates that Summer Garden Food Manufacturing reached out to us, this donation did not move forward because distributors did not want to be associated with Batali and pulled the product from their shelves.”

As we reported ... Batali was dumped by his partners on the heels of new claims of sexual misconduct. We reached out to Batali's sauce makers to ask for an explanation for the banner, so far no word back.

T.I. is fuming and wants a piece of a Houston's security guard he claims manhandled an innocent female customer in Atlanta.

T.I ripped into the security guard -- who is also an ATL police officer working a 2nd job -- and the restaurant in a video he posted Monday night ... alleging the guard went into the women's restroom to drag a customer out through the restaurant, and eventually out the front door. Tip called out the guard, saying, "I need to see you! Come do me like that!!"

A video shot by the woman's friend shows her being held down by the guard. He appeared to be holding her arm behind her back, while her friends yelled at him to let her go.

One of the friends said she was calling police, and the security guard said he was "detaining" the woman until police arrived.

T.I. posted pics showing the woman's alleged injuries, including a black eye and several bruises on her leg.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, all 3 women -- actresses Brittany Lucio, Erica Walker and Asia'h Epperson -- were charged with criminal trespass. Brittany was also charged with felony obstruction.

Remember, this incident comes after T.I. organized a boycott against another Atlanta area Houston's last year when a staffer threw out a group of black female customers. T.I. had worked closely with Houston's ownership to improve relations, before lifting the ban.

Monday night he said, "We done tried to do it the Martin Luther way. It's time for Malcolm X!"

7:15 AM PT -- We got T.I. Tuesday morning, as he was flying out of L.A., and he says his mission is clear ... shutting down the WHOLE Houston's chain.

Meghan Markle's father might've missed his daughter's wedding with Prince Harry, but he wasn't missing his Starbucks while on the mend ... broken hearts be damned.

The Duchess' dad, Thomas Markle, was in Rosarito, Mexico Monday stopping off at a Starbucks drive-thru -- and seemingly walking away with a Frappuccino in hand, whipped cream and all. Mind you ... Thomas just underwent heart surgery last week.

Now, we're not doctors or anything ... but for whatever reason, it doesn't seem like a good idea to slurp up one of Bucks' sweetest, calorie-packed beverages on the heels of a heart procedure -- not to mention a very recent heart attack, too. That's just us, though.

Maybe he's just celebrating the fact that Meghan's wedding went off without a hitch, despite the fact he couldn't be there. Consolation caffeine hits the spot, apparently.

Canelo Alvarez is playing with fire ... vacationing in Mexico, despite blaming his positive PED test on tainted meat.

Remember, Canelo is adamant he didn't intentionally take clenbuterol before his scheduled fight with Gennady Golovkin, saying he unintentionally consumed tainted Mexican beef

Alvarez says he moved his training camp from Mexico to the United States to avoid these problems, but now he's back in his home country, and boxing fans have gotta be hoping he's going meat free.

Oscar De La Hoya -- Canelo's promoter -- says he will fight in September ... whether or not it's GGG.

Mario Batali's being kicked to the curb by his business partners on the heels of new claims of sexual misconduct, including allegedly raping a customer.

B&B Hospitality Group released a statement calling the new allegations "chilling and deeply disturbing." TMZ broke the story ... NYPD's investigating Batali for allegedly raping a woman at his NYC restaurant, Babbo, back in January 2004.

His partners say they were also shocked by the "60 Minutes" report -- an employee at Batali's Spotted Pig restaurant claims Batali drugged her and sexually assaulted her in 2005.

B&B Hospitality says it's actively negotiating with Batali to buy him out, and expect to have a deal done by July 1. The group says it wants to "reinforce our core values for our employees and our guests."

Mario Batali is reportedly being investigated by the NYPD for sexual misconduct after a woman came forward on '60 Minutes' to claim he'd sexually assaulted her.

Anderson Cooper spoke to a handful of women Sunday, one of whom anonymously said Batali had possibly drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2005 after waking up at the Spotted Pig with semen on her leg. The woman, who was an employee of his at the time, says she was getting romantic with Batali prior to blacking out the night before.

The woman says she went to the hospital to get a rape kit done, but never filed a police report.

Other women claimed Batali had inappropriately touched them under his employ, and that they'd once seen him sexually assault at least one other woman, who was either unconscious or semi-conscious, at the Spotted Pig. That woman refused to talk to '60 Minutes.'

Batali issued a strong denial to CBS, saying he vehemently denied sexually assaulting the woman who did speak. It's unclear if he was asked about about the alleged second sexual assault, or the alleged inappropriate touching. That said ... he did issue an apology for his behavior last year.

The cholesterol level among the Royals is about to rise, because Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding cake is filled with eggs -- 500 of them!

California baker Claire Ptak is hard at work finishing up the staple for any wedding ... this cake contains 200 Amalfi lemons, and 10 bottles of elderflower cordial.

The 3 layers are each different sizes ... unusual, says the baker. She calls her creation an 'ethereal layered lemon and elderflower cake.' It's actually a sponge cake of sorts ... the sponge is sandwiched with lemon curd and swiss meringue buttercream.

The cake will be served at Windsor Castle, where roughly 600 guests will chow down.

Usain Bolt decided to go BIG for his restaurant opening in Jamaica this week ... bringing in a big ass statue of himself -- made mostly of real bolts.

Turns out, the Olympic legend is a budding restaurant mogul -- he just opened his 3rd Tracks & Records eatery in Jamaica ... and he's got 15 more spots opening up in the U.K.

So, to celebrate the grand opening of his Montego Bay joint Wednesday night, he threw a massive party ... with the grand unveiling of the famous "Bolt of Bolts" statue.

The artist -- German musician Vita Diedel Kloever -- created the piece back in 2012 ... and said it took FOUR MONTHS to put together.

He installed it at the restaurant late last month.

What's better than having 3 delicious pizzas delivered to your doorstep?? HOW ABOUT GETTING 30 PIZZAS?!

That's exactly what happened during Odell Beckham's first ever Postmates experience on Friday ... when the New York Giants superstar was hungry for some California Pizza Kitchen.

OBJ says he only ordered 3 different pies, but the order must've gotten mixed up along the way, 'cause the dude rolled up to his L.A. home with a TON of pizza.

The clip is hilarious ... Odell thankfully narrates the whole thing ... expressing his uncertainty about the food delivery's reliability to begin with, being a first-timer and all.

BTW -- Odell was only charged for the 3 pizzas he ordered, so it's safe to say he'll be a returning customer.

Kendall Jenner ripped off a pizza guy and is using his good name for her new radio show ... according to a lawsuit.

Robert Karageuzian is the founder of Pizzaboyzzz, an L.A.-based art collective known for its enthusiasm for pizza and pizza-themed merch, and he claims Jenner has burnt his brand by launching her own project with a similar name -- "Pizza Boys."

Karageuzian claims the trouble for him started in March, when Jenner, DJ Daniel Chetrit and Apple created an Instagram account much like his and even jacked his slogan -- "In Crust We Trust." He claims it led to his original Pizzaboyzzz Instagram getting shut down ... and he had to go through hell to recover the account and get his followers back.

According to the docs ... it was announced a few weeks later that Jenner and Chetrit would host a new show on Beats 1 radio station for Apple Music, called "Pizza Boys Radio."

Karageuzian says Jenner's project has caused massive confusion with his already established brand, so he sent a cease and desist letter on April 16 ... demanding they stop using the similar name.

He says they ignored his letter ... and continue to promote their 'Pizza Boys' show.

The Pizzaboyzzz founder is now suing Jenner, Chetrit and Apple to get them to stop using the similar name, and fork over some dough. Ironically, Karageuzian's Pizzaboyzzz Instagram account features a play on the popular Pizza Hut logo using their own name instead.

We reached out to Jenner ... no word back so far.

Marcus Davenport was the 14th pic in the NFL Draft and is now slated to make MILLIONS! So, what's his first big purchase??!?

Mickey D's, baby!!!

The New Orleans Saints newest defensive end was craving some burgers after the draft -- and told our guy specifically what a 6'6", 265-pound man eats to celebrate the biggest night of his life!

Davenport told us he's super excited to get to work in the Big Easy -- and told us the one QB he's most excited about taking down!

The daughter of Gary Canter, the late co-owner of L.A.'s famed Canter's Deli, is accusing his widow of sinister behavior ... and, as a result, she wants control of her father's estate.

Jennifer Canter says in new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, her dad's wife, Traci, waited hours before calling 911 when she found Gary dead in December 2017 ... insinuating foul play was involved. Gary reportedly died of a massive heart attack.

Jennifer claims Traci sent a photo of Gary's body to TMZ in order to get it published. We have not found any record of any such photo being sent to us ... plus we never posted anything about Gary's death.

In the docs, Jennifer says Traci's been selling off her dad's valuables and refuses to let her look through his belongings. Even weirder, Jennifer claims Traci had Gary kidnapped in 2014 in an elaborate move to find out where he'd stashed cash in their house.

She also says she doubts her father and Traci were legally married.

Jennifer's asking a judge to allow her to take over her father's estate -- which she claims is valued at around $500k -- to keep Traci from harming the family even more.

DJ Khaled says he's ready to hop in the studio with Meek Mill whenever he's ready -- 'cause Meek's family ... and Khaled couldn't be happier that he's finally out.

We got Khaled Wednesday night at Matsuhisa in Bev Hills and asked if any new music could be coming down the pipeline between himself and Meek, now that the dude's been released from prison on bail. According to Khaled, it's not a matter of if ... but when.

There's no denying it -- Khaled clearly has love for Meek, who he praises for successfully being able to come back from a 5-month "vacation" ... as he calls it.