Famous Food

Calvin Kattar's looking forward to Saturday night -- not just because he's headlining a major UFC card -- the MMA star's planning to hit up a delicious BBQ restaurant right after his fight.

"Excited to be out here. Texas is awesome," Kattar told TMZ Sports ... "Looking forward to getting some barbeque after the fight."

Kattar, the 34-year-old, #4 ranked UFC featherweight is one half of the Fight Night card Saturday night in Austin ... where he'll take on 37-year-old title contender Josh Emmett.

The featherweight weight limit is 145 pounds ... very light for a muscular, 5'11" fighter like Calvin.

So, no brisket before the weigh-in and fight (easier said than done in a place like Texas) -- but that doesn't mean his friends aren't indulging in the local fare -- something you'd think Kattar would NOT want his boys to do in front of him while he's cutting weight.

But, Calvin -- who has wins over Giga Chikadze, Dan Ige, and Jeremy Stephens -- isn't just a savage in Octagon.

"I have them bring [BBQ] home, eat it in front of me, I like to smell it. I'm sick, man. I like to watch them enjoy themselves. You know, we're only out here for so long, so if I can't take it in, I want them to."

(Calvin's clearly an awesome friend)

As for where a win leaves him in the division, Kattar isn't sure ... but he knows a win continues the momentum in the right direction.

"It's always one step closer with a win, that's all I know."

CK added ... "That's out of my control. Only thing that is in my control is the fight Saturday night and that's where my focus will be."

We also talked to Emmett (more fighting talk, less food). Josh is ranked 7 in the division ... and believes an (impressive) win could set him up for a title shot against either Alex Volkanovski or Max Holloway.

Ayesha Curry is turning Celtics fans' famous diss into a great cause ... creating a  line of "Ayesha Curry Can Cook" shirts that'll benefit charity.

If you missed it, a bar in Boston took a shot at Steph Curry's wife -- a chef and a cookbook author -- before Game 4 of the Warriors vs. Celtics NBA Finals series last week ... writing on a sign outside of their business, "Ayesha Curry Can't Cook".

Steph later clapped back at the diss by wearing an "Ayesha Curry CAN Cook" shirt to his postgame press conference following Golden State's win over the Cs in Game 5.

The back and forth between Curry and the bar went viral -- and, when Steph ended up winning the title, he made sure to let Boston know he didn't forget about it.

Seems Ayesha didn't either ... 'cause she's now launched a line of "Ayesha Curry Can Cook" shirts through her brand Sweet July.

In announcing the sale of the tees -- which are going for $28 apiece -- Ayesha said all proceeds will benefit @nokidhungry, an org dedicated to helping end childhood hunger.

Former heavyweight boxer Julius Francis -- who famously fought Mike Tyson in 2000 -- showed he's still got thunder in his hands ... knocking out a man cold while working a security gig on Saturday.

The ferocious punch went down outside of BOXPARK Wembley in the U.K. ... after a man appeared to get into a confrontation with security guards for an unknown reason.

In video of the incident, shot by a bystander, you can see the man in the du-rag was clearly not pleased with Francis and other guards ... screaming at them, and seeming to shove some of them as well.

As the guards were trying to get the man away from the area, the guy stepped toward Francis -- who clearly didn't like that.

Video shows Francis hit the man square in the jaw with a quick right hook -- sending him straight to the ground. The man appeared to be out cold for several moments.

No word on if the guy suffered any significant injuries.

Local law enforcement, meanwhile, said in a statement they are investigating it all.

"Police are aware of footage circulating on social media showing an incident involving security staff and a member of the public outside Boxpark in Wembley."

"An investigation into the circumstances, including to establish the identity and welfare of those involved, is underway."

They added no arrests have been made at this time.

Francis fought professionally 48 times in the 1990s and early 2000s -- famously losing to Tyson in a January 2000 bout in Manchester.

Steph Curry beat the Celtics on the court on Monday night -- and then he got the victory against their fans off of it immediately afterward, rockin' a T-shirt that trolled the hell out of some heckling Boston supporters.

Just minutes after Curry and the Warriors beat the Cs at the Chase Center in Game 5 of the NBA Finals in San Francisco, the Golden State superstar showed up to his news conference with a tee that read, "Ayesha Curry CAN Cook."

It was a simple, grey-and-black article of clothing underneath a zip-up jacket ... but it was the perfect clap back to some trolling that Celtics fans did before Friday's Game 4 in Boston.

If you missed it, outside of a popular bar, fans wrote "Ayesha Curry Can't Cook" on a sign to troll Curry's wife, who's a chef.

Steph clearly believed otherwise -- and his own trolling message hit perfectly following Golden State's dominating 104-94 win.

The 34-year-old, though, let the shirt do his talking for him, because when a reporter asked him about it -- he said simply, "You've got to ask around the room and ask Twitter. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely."

Jimmy Fallon did his best Joey Chestnut impression during last night's Rangers playoff game in NYC  ... the late-night talk show host dunked his hot dog -- bun and all -- in his beer before devouring both, and spilling everywhere!

'The Tonight Show' host was in the building for game 5 of the Conference Finals game between the NYR and Tampa Bay Lightning ... when Fallon found himself on the big screen at Madison Square Garden, hot dog and beer in hand.

Fallon, a NY native, has clearly seen a Nathan's hot dog eating competition or two in his time ... Jimmy softened up the bun using his brew, before it all went down the hatch.

Of course, if you've watched competitive eating, you know that's the preferred method for eating quickly.

FYI, Chestnut's record is 76 hot dogs/buns in 10 minutes. He routinely puts away over 70.

For Rangers fans, the antics off the ice were far more entertaining ... the team lost game 5 by a score of 3-1, and now trails in the series, 3-2. And, now the team must go on the road to Tampa ... where NY is 0-2 this series.

It's reminiscent of the New York Knicks fan a few years back who was captured on camera dunking chicken nuggets into her soda.

The good folks at M&M Mars have a genuine chocolate disaster on their hands ... 2 people got trapped in a chocolate factory vat -- not on purpose, we think -- and required a "jaws of life" type rescue.

What sounds like a scene straight outta "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" went down Thursday at an M&M Mars plant in Lancaster County ... not too far from Hershey, PA.

It's unclear right now how the 2 people fell into the vat, but authorities reportedly had to cut a hole in the side of the tank to get them out.

The first victim was reportedly rescued around 3:10 PM, and the second was extricated about 15 minutes later. No word yet on if the vat was filled to the brim or empty when the victims went down.

And, yes ... they're still victims, even if they were possibly swimming in chocolate.

No word on either person's condition right now, but according to reports they were alive when cops pulled 'em out.

Johnny Depp broke the bank on Indian food while overseas ... spending the night with his closest friends to celebrate his massive win over his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Johnny and co. hit up Varanasi -- a restaurant in Birmingham, England -- Sunday night, and they did way more than just order a few apps to share. The joint's Operations Director Mohammed Hussain tells TMZ Johnny's bill was in the neighborhood of 50,000 British pounds, or about $60k.

We're told Johnny was joined by pal Jeff Beck and 20 other hungry friends, and the place was closed down to the public so they all could dine in peace.

Mohammed says he was shocked Johnny was stopping by his place, and says the actor was an extremely humble guy ... the two even chatted it up for a while in his private office.

As you know, Johnny's been livin' like a rockstar in the U.K. after his big W in court ... missing the verdict but taking his time overseas to celebrate.

You always hear about how bad airline food is — but this is a whole new level … yuck.

Check out this video posted by a man who says he hopped an American Airlines flight from Frankfurt to Dallas-Fort Worth last week — riding business class, no less — and found tiny little bugs crawling around in his salad.

The greens were packaged separately and wrapped in plastic wrap, and sure enough … there seems to be something, or things, squirming around in there.

The passenger griped ... “The business class was over $10,000 round trip and this is the quality of service. Food with live bugs being served and a staff that simply laughed it off and asked if I wanted a different salad.”

He tagged AA too, and they responded — saying they’d flag it to the appropriate team and that it would be addressed.

Next time, pack an extra protein bar. 🤢

The Indianapolis Children's Museum is in hot water after serving up a racially insensitive dish ... specifically to commemorate Juneteenth.

Yes, that pic shows the watermelon salad being sold in the museum cafeteria, and they're not even subtle about the racism, as the label reads ... "Juneteenth Watermelon Salad."

One ticked-off patron's reaction to the shocking menu item was, "No joke!!!"

A rep for the museum is defending the salad, saying its food service partners "planned a Juneteenth menu as a way for us to raise awareness of the holiday's meaning, and commemorate their own family traditions."

While that makes it sound like the food service company is Black-owned, we haven't been able to confirm that yet.

The rep also says "Red foods have historically been served by some to remember the blood that was shed along the way to freedom." We've never heard that one before, but okay.

They did offer a mea culpa though, saying, "The museum apologizes and acknowledges the negative impact that stereotypes have on communities of color. We have removed the salad from our menu. We value our relationships with all of our visitors and communities. We have learned from this experience."

The museum -- which is throwing a "Juneteenth Jamboree" -- correctly states on its website that Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S., and is also called Emancipation Day or Juneteenth Independence Day.

Not since Eddie Murphy have Beverly Hills cops gotten this many laughs -- the department's getting roasted for posting a video of officers nabbing an alleged thief ... of one cup of Starbucks coffee.

Here's the deal ... the official Instagram page for Bev Hills PD reposted a video Thursday where folks inside a Starbucks say cops rushed to retrieve the stolen goods -- likely worth $5 or $6.

The "hot pursuit" puns are flying in the comments, and there are a fair amount of coffee and donut jokes too ... naturally.

Customers inside the Starbucks definitely sound happy with the officers who they say took only a few minutes to track down the man who allegedly stole a woman's drink -- but the sentiment doesn't seem shared, at least online.

The cops don't seem to be taking themselves too seriously, adding a playful caption and hashtags to their repost ... "Cop Catches Coffee Caper at Starbucks. #NoCallTooSmall #answerthecall #joinbhpd #starbucks #coffee #brew #grande #drip #latte #espresso #bean."

Kim Kardashian did, in fact, go to town on Beyond Meat products ... a point she really wanted to prove in a newly surfaced video from a recent commercial she did for the company.

ICYMI, Kim K came under a lot of fire for an advertisement she recently did for the plant-based meat substitute. In it, Kim said she'd been named the company's new taste consultant ... yet people online noticed the ad never showed Kim actually taking a bite of any of the items she was holding.

Kim attempted to quiet all the trolls Tuesday, posting a ton of outtakes from the commercial where she bites into tenders, sausage and even a burger -- though she ditched the top bun to cut carbs.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has made more than $146 MILLION in his career, but even he has to let out a "sheeeesh" when it comes to expensive dining in L.A. ... saying, "this city is not for me."

The Milwaukee Bucks champ and his family hit up Catch in West Hollywood on Wednesday ... and while he says the food was "incredible," he admits the tasty meal put a dent in his wallet.

"Expensive, expensive," the Greek Freak said. "This city is not for me."

Now, Giannis has never been one to flaunt his wealth -- he even seems a bit shy when the camera guy brings up how insanely rich he is -- but he admits ya can't put a price tag on having an unforgettable time with the fam.

Giannis and the Bucks recently got booted from the playoffs ... and while the Celtics and Heat duke it out in the Eastern Conference Finals, he was chowing down on some of the best food in L.A.

Who's the real winner??

Well, let's be honest -- Giannis would much rather be playing still ... but this alternative ain't too shabby.

Kanye West is apparently back on dad duty after some time away in Japan and NYC ... grabbing some grub at one of L.A.'s hottest spots with his oldest kid.

Kanye and North West were spotted leaving NOBU in Malibu Wednesday -- marking the first time we've seen Kanye with any of his kids in quite some time. NOBU is obviously a celeb hot spot, and one of Kanye's favorites, so it's not totally shocking they decided to go there.

As we reported, Kanye was recently in Japan with his girlfriend, Chaney Jones, before he hit New York City for the Balenciaga show.

No sign of Chaney at NOBU, though she and Kanye have been linked together for several months now, and it's possible she might now be in L.A. with him.

Of course, Kanye accused Kim of holding his kids from him through a series of social media posts months ago. Kim denied that, saying he's never been barred from seeing the kids, but has also tried to maintain a routine for the 4.

McDonald's may have found their latest spokesperson, or at the very least a new star to sing their jingle ... cause The Kid LAROI gave some excited fans the ultimate treat outside the fast-food restaurant.

The Australian rapper put on an impromptu show outside one of the franchise's locations in Sydney, Australia ... performing his song "Thousand Miles," asking folks, crowded around, to sing along.

Before singing, LAROI tells fans his record label has pushed him to post on TikTok more, but confesses he doesn't know what to do on the app ... so the sing-along seemed like a good idea.

As we reported ... he surprised fans last month with a secret concert at the Lodge Room in L.A.'s Highland Park neighborhood, just before 2 fans got a little too amped up and had to be taken down by security.

Welp, here's the latest entry to the Tone-Deaf Marketing Hall of Fame (there really should be one by now) ... Walmart's Juneteenth Ice Cream is MOA -- melting on arrival -- with critics, as one might expect.

As soon as the retail giant started putting the "Celebration Edition" on its freezer shelves ... the Twitter mob sounded off, calling the idea "garbage," and worse. The pints contain swirled red velvet and cheesecake ice cream flavors ... and included the message, "Share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation and enduring hope."

Yes, all positives, but also ... exploitive for capitalism's sake??? That's the tone of the backlash against Walmart ahead of the new federal holiday -- June 19th will mark the 2nd year it's recognized -- which commemorates the day the last enslaved Americans got the news President Lincoln had abolished slavery.

Walmart is also launching a similar "celebration edition" for Pride Month, which is also coming up in June. That flavor is white chocolate ice cream with brownies and cherries.

Depending on your viewpoint ... that's either equal opportunity, or equally offensive.

Cassandra Freeman, famous for playing Aunt Viv on "Bel-Air," doesn't want to see any Juneteenth ice cream at "the cookout" ... and says Walmart's latest is just plain wrong.

We got Cassandra Monday at LAX and asked her about Walmart's "Celebration Edition Juneteenth Ice Cream" ... which is pissing off the very community it's intending to reach or honor.

Cassandra's got an instant reaction to the tone-deaf dessert ... and it's not good. She's also left wondering what'll be next on Walmart's ice cream shelves, joking about what other historical events can be made into offensive sweets.

As we reported ... Walmart is getting tons of backlash for its newest flavor, a mix of red velvet and cheesecake ice cream along with this message on the package, "Share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation and enduring hope."

Cassandra isn't surprised it's a Walmart idea, and tells us why Ben and Jerry's would never make the same mistake.

She also blasts the retail giant for its corporate greed and shames whoever greenlit the product for not reading their history books.