Famous Food

Starbucks usually gives its customers a caffeine jolt, but one guy says he perked up for entirely different reasons ... claiming the coffee giant poisoned him with a cleaning solution.

A man named Matthew Mitchell is suing the green mermaid company for what he claims was a reckless display from management when he allegedly downed a black coffee ... which turned out to be blue, and NOT any type of java in the slightest.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Mitchell claims he ordered a simple coffee beverage from a Connecticut location last August ... which was promptly served, and which he threw down the hatch without even thinking twice.

Almost immediately, however, Mitchell says when he drank what turned out to be a witch's brew, he immediately felt a burning in his throat and chest. He looked down in his cup and saw a blue liquid ... turns out it was a chemical substance -- causing his stomach to turn upside down within seconds. Mitchell alleges the staff told him a new employee had screwed the pooch ... not realizing they were brewing coffee in a machine that had just gotten a Urnex treatment.

If you're unfamiliar ... Urnex has a product called Urn and Brewer Cleaner, which Starbucks uses to purify its brewing machines. Problem is, according to Mitchell, Starbs has a crappy system to alert employees when the cleaning is going on -- an upside-down cup and nothing more, he says -- leading novice workers to serve customers like him tainted cups of Joe.

Mitchell says this system is BS -- insisting a more thorough process should've been in play to prevent the nightmare -- and hits the point home, claiming Starbucks was cutting corners here ... which caused great pain and suffering on his part. As a matter of fact, Mitchell claims at least 2 other alleged poison victims sued Starbucks for the exact same thing in the past.

While he was treated for the alleged poisoning, Mitchell says he continues to deal with the fallout -- including what he says is heightened anxiety and fear about the long-term effects of the Urnex ... not to mention medical bills, etc.

For all this trouble, Mitchell says Starbucks is completely responsible ... and he's asking a judge to award him a boatload of cash in damages, laid out in explicit terms by his dynamo attorney, Joe Tacopina.

We reached out to Starbucks, who said, "Our baristas take great care in crafting beverages and providing a safe experience for our customers. We take this obligation seriously and are reviewing Mr. Mitchell's claims."

Kim Kardashian played dinner host in Miami over the weekend for some of her hottest and most famous friends to celebrate the launch of her SKIMS Swim line ... and you can bet Hulu cameras were there, too.

The whole thing went down Saturday at Swan -- David Grutman and Pharrell's restaurant -- where guests dined on pizza, prawns, artichokes, brussels sprouts and more.

As for the guestlist, Khloe Kardashian, Naomi Osaka, Karolina Kournikova, Amanda Anisimova, Malika Haqq,  Candice Swanepoel, Lourdes Leon, and Emma Grede -- to name a few.

We're told Kim opened the dinner with a toast to thank everyone for attending the big launch ... something she and her team have put a ton of work into. Hulu cameras were on hand to capture Kim's entire trip.

TMZ broke the story -- lines for the SKIMS Swim popup in South Beach were INSANE over the weekend ... Kim, Khloe and friends Olivia Pierson, Natalie Halcro, Stephanie Shepherd and Tracy Romulus all stopped by the shop before the celebratory dinner.

Post Malone might be the nicest superstar ever … so says one mom, after he helped wish her autistic son, and fan, a happy 21st birthday.

Nicole Schumacher tells TMZ ...  she and her son Andrew, who's a huge fan of Post's, ran into the "White Iverson" rapper at Matsuhisa Restaurant in Bev Hills to celebrate his 21st birthday.

She tells us Andrew follows the law and had been eagerly waiting to have a beer for the first time ever! While he waited for the brewsky, he was in for a big surprise.

The table next to them sent PM a bottle of sake, so Post came over to thank the group, and as he was about to walk back to his table, Nicole told PM that her son was a big fan and would love to meet him. Post more than obliged.

Check out the video ... Post gives Andrew a warm smile and a handshake, and there's a little chitchat, which means everything to the young man.

Andrew's mom tells us he has a hard time speaking, and rarely are strangers as patient and kind with him as Post.

Mom and son hail from Canton, Ohio ... they were in town visiting her other son who works in L.A. ... so this surprise meet and greet was the icing on the cake.

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson are escaping all the drama with Kanye West by filling up on comfort food ... but their attempt to do it on the QT was a pretty hilarious fail.

The couple rolled up to an In-N-Out in the L.A. area, and got in line at the drive-thru ... and immediately drew plenty of attention. First of all, there's nothing low-profile about Kim's custom gray Mercedes-Benz sedan ... so, the paparazzi certainly spotted them.

And then there's the passersby on foot, and the restaurant employees who obviously recognized Pete and Kim -- they're only the most talked about couple in the country right now.

While waiting in the line for their food, Kim seemed to lean over for a little PDA with Pete ... as they're clearly not trying to hide their affection for each other anymore.

We hadn't seen them together in public for a while, but after recently going IG official, doesn't look like they're holding anything back now -- no matter how much it might upset Ye.

Seeing these 2 indulge in classic fast food makes us wonder, though -- animal style?

President Biden is continuing to tighten the screws on Russia, announcing a ban on Vodka, caviar and diamonds imported from the country.

On Friday, 46 announced that he -- along with the nations that make up the EU and G7 -- will revoke Russia's "most favored nation" trade status ... allowing the U.S. and other allies to impose higher tariffs on Russian imports.

The downgrade will also put a ban on Russian vodka, certain seafood and Russian diamonds.

We should note, Russian vodka makes up a small percentage of vodkas on the shelves in the U.S. ... a few Russian-made brands include Russian Standard, Beluga Noble Russian Vodka and Beluga Noble Russian Gold Vodka.

Back in 2019, Russia was the 26th largest goods trading partner of the U.S. ... the majority of those goods being Russian oil and gas -- which Biden banned earlier this week.

Here's a sanction Russian citizens will feel immediately ... all Starbucks and McDonald's restaurants are shutting down there in protest of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Starbucks has about 130 locations in Russia and Ukraine and employs about 2,000 people. CEO Kevin Johnson says Starbucks will provide support for the workers, but all shipments of products will cease ... and all the branches are temporarily closing.

The McDonald's hit will be even bigger ... there are nearly 850 restaurants closing down, and they employ 62,000 Russians.

The golden arches have been in Russia for just over 30 years -- there were huge lines when the first Moscow restaurants opened in 1990, in the wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Eastern Bloc.

Despite Mickey D's immense popularity there, CEO Chris Kempczinski says, "Our values mean we cannot ignore the needless human suffering unfolding in Ukraine."

Both companies had taken some heat for remaining open before today's announcements ... and other corporations are feeling the pressure now. Case in point, within an hour of Starbucks' pullout, Coca-Cola said it too will suspend all business in Russia.

As you know, the U.S. had announced economic sanctions that have crushed the value of Russia's currency. In addition, the U.S., and several other countries, are seizing the assets of Russia's oligarchs.

Another brazen display of thievery at a Walgreens went down this week in the Bay Area -- but the difference now ... someone actually tried doing something, with nutritious help.

Check out this wild video of a guy literally going behind the checkout counter at one of these drug stores in the Richmond District of SF -- where these types of smash and grab thefts have become all too common ... with little to no resistance by anyone there.

Per usual, the dude is having his way back there ... snatching up whatever he can and throwing it in a bag, all while the staff standby and call 911 right next to him.

However, this time ... it looks like somebody was sick of playing bystander and wanted to get in the mix a bit, to at least let the thief know -- hey, this isn't cool ... and also, screw you! And so ... they got into a food fight of sorts, with fruit being the first weapon of choice.

The crook and customer trade banana blows, and eventually ... the former throws what appear to be cookies before getting out of Dodge. It's kinda funny, but also surreal.

BTW, this is far from the only incident like this that's occurred at a Walgreens -- not just in the Bay, but across the country it seems ... as thieves seem to have figured out the retail giant will literally not do a thing to stop anyone, as it's against their shoplifting policy.

All they'll do is call the cops, but by the time they show ... a lot of these folks are long gone. Even the hired security guards have orders not to interfere -- and it's becoming untenable, as Walgreens has recently announced mass store closures, citing these hits as a partial reason.

Harvey Weinstein was caught red-handed once again ... this time with a box of Milk Duds!

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... the contraband in question was discovered by L.A. County jail guards back in November -- after a meeting with attorney Shawn Burkley.

While it's unclear how the Duds made their way to him, Weinstein claimed he brought the chocolates with him when he was extradited from New York back in July. Apparently, jail officials think one of his lawyers may have slipped him the Duds.

Weinstein's rep Juda Engelmayer gave us a statement from Weinstein ... "This was an innocent misunderstanding. It will not happen again. I have been a model inmate, following the rules and regulations and I am sincerely sorry.”

HW's attorney Mark Werksman tells TMZ ... the judge took no action against Weinstein -- nor did the jail. Mark, Shawn, and his other lawyers are still visiting him ... with the same cursory checks in effect.

Weinstein is currently being held at the Correctional Treatment Center -- a medical unit within the Twin Towers jail in downtown Los Angeles ... as he currently awaits trial. He's serving a 23-year sentence in New York.

Bethenny Frankel is commanding an army of her own -- hundreds of people tasked with saving Ukrainians as Russia invades their homeland, and how she does it is a remarkable lesson in efficiency.

The philanthropist and entrepreneur joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday to talk more about her Bstrong initiative, which is raising millions and sending aid to the war-torn country. Bethenny had announced her partnership with Global Empowerment Mission, pledging $10 mil in food, medical aid and other supplies.

All of that aid's being boxed up in her South Florida warehouse ... but on top of that, Bstrong continues to raise even more cash -- more than $5 million -- to help fleeing Ukrainians at the Poland border relocate. As for how she's pulling off this extraordinary humanitarian effort -- Bethenny tells us it's all about being "efficient and lean," and knowing where help is most needed.

She adds, for anyone looking to donate their cash to her initiative, your money certainly won't go to waste 'cause her team is on the ground working.

It's no surprise Bethenny's among those leading the charge ... she says she's gotten lots of training in relief efforts for natural disasters, like tropical storms in Texas, the Caribbean and the Australian wildfires. She says her history of putting on big productions, with many moving parts, has helped hone her get-it-done mindset.

A brewery in Ukraine is joining the fight against Russian troops ... switching out their craft beer for Molotov cocktails.

Employees at the Pravda Brewery -- located in Lviv -- chose to create the bombs after word spread Russian tanks will roll into their city near the Polish border ... home to 720,000 residents.

They began producing the cocktails for the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces -- a team made up of reservists who responded to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call to defend the country.

“You have to wait for the cloth to be well soaked. When it is, that means the Molotov cocktail is ready,” said one smiling employee as he demonstrated the process.

Military instructors have been teaching residents to use the beers-to-bombs against the heavily armed Russian troops ... after officials in the capital of Kyiv urged locals to “neutralize the occupier” with the homemade firebombs.

“We do this because someone has to. We have the skills, we went through a street revolution in 2014,” says Brewery owner Yuriy Zastavny ... referring to Kyiv’s uprising that defeated a Kremlin-based regime.

One of Pravda’s favorite brews is called “Putin khuylo,” -- which translates to “Putin is a d*** head.”

Jackson Mahomes is getting ripped by a business again -- this time, a snack company claims the Chiefs QB's brother scammed them out of a $250 care package.

Rare Munchiez owner Sam Farha tells TMZ Sports ... Patrick Mahomes' little bro DMed the company on Instagram back in January, saying he loved their product -- rare snacks and sodas from across the world --  and would like a care package.

Farha says he had no problem with that ... as long as Mahomes posted his business and the bundle for his 260,000 followers to see.

Sam says Mahomes agreed -- but after the $250 package was delivered and signed for by the 21-year-old on Feb. 8, he went MIA.

Farha tells us he reached out to Mahomes several times over the next 2-3 weeks after the delivery ... claiming screenshots of the DMs prove he was being ignored.

"It's not like he wasn't seeing our messages," Farha says. "He was opening them every time I sent a message. He looked at all my DMs for 2 weeks straight."

So, Farha decided to enter Mahomes' world by posting a TikTok video this week sharing his side of things ... and that's when Jackson hit him back.

"He still says he never received it after the video went viral," Farha says. "It took a video to go viral, bashing him, for him to actually respond!"

But, Farha tells us he believes Mahomes DID receive that package ... especially with the tracking info and the way he ignored him for weeks until he put him on blast.

So, what now?? Farha doesn't even want Mahomes to give his business a shoutout anymore ... and is throwing shade at him for taking advantage of being the younger brother of an NFL superstar.

"My message for him is to basically stop taking advantage of clout, trying to scam small businesses because that's just not how the world works."

"He's just using his brother's name and fame for himself to get free stuff."

This isn't the first time Jackson was accused of similar behavior -- just 2 months ago, he was ripped by a restaurant in Kansas City for allegedly clout chasing after he made a social media post about their bad service.

The restaurant later apologized to Mahomes after they criticized him -- but it doesn't seem he'll be getting one from Rare Munchiez.

Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley were spotted out together in Los Angeles earlier this week ... despite reports the world-famous couple broke off their engagement and called it quits on the relationship.

38-year-old Rodgers and 30-year-old Woodley were seen by a fan -- who posted about the encounter on Twitter -- at Erewhon market on Tuesday.

The couple/former couple sat down for breakfast, sitting outside at a table together, according to E! News. They didn't stay very long.

Seeing Aaron and Shailene together is surprising ... because they reportedly recently broke up after nearly 2 years of dating.

The couple announced they were engaged in February 2021.

At the time of the reported break up, People reported both were busy people and wanted to focus on their careers.

But, then Rodgers posted a mushy Instagram message about Woodley, writing ... "Thanks for always having my back, for the incredible kindness you show me and everyone you meet, and for showing me what unconditional love looks like, I love you and am grateful for you."

Doesn't sound like a couple who's broken up.

The NFL MVP also went on Pat McAfee's show and continued to gush over Shailene ... while never directly saying whether they were still together.

So, they may be engaged ... or they may be broken up.

Patrick Mahomes pulled out all the stops for his big bachelor party dinner -- eating massive, high-quality steaks and drinking 100-year-old booze in Vegas with his closest friends!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Super Bowl champ and his buds -- including some of his NFL teammates -- hit up Carversteak at Resorts World on Thursday ... and feasted a wagyu tomahawk rib chop with his name and Chiefs logo branded on the bone!!

We're told the guys downed Louis XIII cognac to kick off the bash ... which comes with AT LEAST a 4-figure price tag. Sheesh.

Along with the tomahawk, Mahomes and the gang chowed down on wagyu cheesesteak bites, ribeye, seared crab cakes, striploin, mac and cheese and more throughout the night ... before taking things to the Rose Rooftop for some shots of Michael Jordan's Cincoro tequila.

What's really cool?? Resorts World projected a MASSIVE picture of Pat and Brittany Matthews on its 100k-square-foot screen ... congratulating the couple on their upcoming marriage.

We're told Mahomes' Chiefs teammates Travis Kelce, Jerick McKinnon, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Orlando Brown Jr. are in town for the fun ... so it's bound to be a great time.

As for Brittany, she's enjoying her last few days of freedom with her gal pals ... posting up with them before heading out on the town as well.

Priyanka Chopra's finally speaking out about that awkward encounter with Rosie O'Donnell, -- and a subsequent apology -- and it's clear she's offended Rosie couldn't even say her name.

ICYMI ... Rosie posted a video talking about running into Priyanka and Nick Jonas at Nobu in Malibu, where she embarrassingly claimed she knew Priyanka's father, Deepak Chopra. Oops! That ain't her dad.

Rosie then attempted to apologize, but only referred to Priyanka as "the Chopra wife."

Priyanka's response at least starts on the high road, as she says ... "I have never taken myself so seriously to think everyone would know who I am, or my work for that matter."

But, it quickly becomes evident she's peeved -- she continues, "If you wanted to  make a public apology for a very awkward private encounter, I think probably best to take the time to google my name before doing it."

As for Rosie never even saying her name, she says ... "We ALL deserve to be respected for our unique individuality and not be referred to as 'someone' or 'wife' especially in a sincere apology." Burn.

Maybe the best suggestion Priyanka makes to Rosie was to simply "reach out directly" ... instead of doing it on social media. That's a novel idea.

Forget poppin' bottles at the club -- Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric celebrated the biggest night of his career with burgers and milkshakes ... telling TMZ Sports he partied it up at a Steak 'n Shake!!

We spoke with the 23-year-old fresh off Sunday's victory in Florida ... and he told us he went to the famous burger spot with his whole crew to fuel up after the race.

"We took everybody -- including the Harley J. Earl trophy -- and we went to Steak 'n Shake," Cindric told us. "We closed the place down after midnight, and they stayed open for us, and we killed a bunch of burgers and milkshakes."

Cindric opted to keep things simple ... telling us he knew he'd have a busy day ahead of himself the morning after the race -- and who's got time for a hangover?!

The Ohio native says he went back to his hotel room with his dad and called a few friends and family members to include them in the special moment ... and then it was time to call it a day.

Austin's win was a big surprise -- he entered Sunday's race -- the Super Bowl of auto racing -- with 25-1 odds to win it all ... meaning if you wagered $100 on Cindric, you'd win $2,500.

Cindric overcame the odds and said that winning a race of this magnitude at his age (he's the 3rd youngest to win the Daytona 500) was everything he could imagine -- and more.

"It's a dream come true," Cindric said. "It's every racer's dream to just go to the Daytona 500 and compete."

"But to do it with an overtime restart with everything on the line," he continued, "and be able to come across and win the biggest race of the year, it was awesome to get it done."

Big boys gotta eat ... especially when those big boys are massive bears like Hank, who's now broken into at least 28 homes in search of food!!!

The city of South Lake Tahoe, CA has quite the menace roaming their streets -- a chunky guy they've named Hank the Tank. The 500-pound bear's been spotted more than 100 times since July, but human encounters aren't scaring him off ... Hank keeps trying to get his paws on sweet leftovers in home after home.

For reference, an average black bear weighs anywhere from 100-300 lbs ... so, Hank's had quite the hibernation!

Local authorities have tried to “haze” the bear with loud noises, paintballs and Tasers, but nothing's keeping him away.

Peter Tira -- a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife -- told the New York Times, “This is a bear that has lost all fear of people ... It’s a potentially dangerous situation.” Tira says local authorities are trying to trap the bear and possibly euthanize him.

Not everyone is keen on them putting him down, however ... locals point out that while Hank's causing property damage, he's a gentle giant that hasn't harmed any humans.

As one resident put it ... Hank just eats peacefully, and "he doesn’t attack them. He doesn’t growl. He doesn’t make rude faces.”

Well, at least he's polite while breaking and entering.