Famous Food

It's the nickname born from a strip club chicken wing scandal -- "Lemon Pepper Lou" -- and now Lou Williams says he's trying to lock up the trademark.

The L.A. Clippers star says he's already tasked his lawyer to file for the rights to the nickname ... claiming if anyone should profit from the scandal, it should be him!!!

Remember, Lou was busted at the legendary Magic City strip club in ATL back in July while on an approved leave from the NBA Bubble to attend a memorial service.

He was specifically instructed to stay out of crowded areas due to the COVID pandemic -- but Lou had a hankering for MC's famous lemon pepper wings ... and made a pit stop at the club for some takeout.

Williams tried to keep a low profile, but rapper Jack Harlow accidentally dimed Williams out on IG ... which led to a mandatory 10-day quarantine when Lou finally returned to the bubble.

Social media went crazy over the story -- with everyone referring to Williams as "Lemon Pepper Lou."

But, Williams ain't mad about the jokes -- he's trying to MONETIZE! He immediately called his lawyer and ordered him to try and lock up the trademark for LPL, stat!

The whole trademark process can take a while -- but Lou says it's already begun ... and he's already cracking jokes about it.

"Ya'll make jokes and t shirts but it's gonna cost ya lol," Williams said on IG ... "Yep. First time I've owned a joke lol."

Gotta love the business savvy -- maybe a line of chicken wings next?

Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson just came through in the clutch for each other's cities ... by donating meals to frontline workers in KC and Houston before facing off in the NFL season opener.

The Chiefs and Texans are set to kick-off the 2020 campaign Thursday night ... and the 2 quarterbacks decided to help their opposing team's city by sending some local grub to those battling the pandemic.

The reigning Super Bowl MVP decided to send some grub from Cool Runnings Jamaican Grill -- a Black-owned restaurant in Houston -- to workers at Harris Health System via Postmates.

Watson returned the favor by hooking up workers at the Truman Medical Centers in Kansas City with meals from Niecie's Restaurant, a local Black-owned soul food joint.

Let's not forget -- the last time these guys faced off on the field, the Texans blew a 24-0 lead in the divisional round of the playoffs as the Chiefs went on to win, 51-31 ... eventually winning the Super Bowl.

The guy who helped invent Jelly Belly jelly beans is going full Gene Wilder in these dark times -- promising to give one lucky person their own candy factory if they play his game.

David Klein has kicked off a Willy Wonka-esque treasure hunt that's open to anyone in these 50 states, and he's got the ultimate grand prize ... a professional shop to churn out treats.

Klein explained some of the parameters of the contest Tuesday on "TMZ Live" where he also said that whoever wins the whole enchilada -- one of his actual operating candy factories -- will also get candy-making lessons in a university setting ... plus, his own expertise in running the biz.

There's one catch ... in order to play, ya gotta pay $50 and you're automatically entered into the ultimate factory lottery. As for the hunt itself, yes, there is a "gold ticket" component involved, and if you find it in your state ... you'll win $5,000 guaranteed.

The details are probably best explained by DK himself from the site he launched just for this new venture.

As for why he's doing it, Dave says it's his way of helping people get their minds off all the turmoil in the country.

Sure, we'll take a little sugar high for now. Why not?!

Travis Scott's latest food delivery can be summed up with one simple phrase -- he's lovin' it.

The rapper's still riding a McDonald's high after the launch of his very own meal at the fast-food chain, making him the first celeb to have one of those since a guy named Michael Jordan back in 1992.

Travis had bags of the grub and sodas delivered to his West Hollywood office Tuesday, and ya gotta think there's more than one Travis Scott Meal in there ... a $6 deal that comes with a Quarter Pounder with cheese, bacon, lettuce, pickles, ketchup and mustard, medium fries with BBQ sauce and a Sprite.

Scott was also sporting his own Cactus Jack-themed Mickey D's shirt as he hopped in his red, $3 million LaFerrari sports car and took off.

As we reported ... the rapper got mobbed by fans at a McDonald's in Downey, CA Tuesday when he showed up to show them some love for waiting in line to try his new meal.

Travis Scott made a McDonald's look like one of his concerts ... he got mobbed by a huge throng of fans waiting in line to get his new fast food combo meal.

The rapper stopped by a Mickey D's in Downey, CA Tuesday to celebrate the release of the Travis Scott Meal, and ya gotta see the video -- people went absolutely bonkers.

Travis left his red sports car and grabbed a McDonald's employee's shirt on his way over to the huge line of people, but folks broke past the barricades and swarmed ... sending TS running for cover.

In a split second, social distancing and mask-wearing went out the window ... and all Travis did was show up and show love.

Maybe Cactus Jack's combo meal can calm these folks down ... it comes with a Quarter Pounder with cheese topped with bacon and lettuce, plus medium fries with barbecue dipping sauce and a Sprite.

BTW ... Travis is the first celeb to get his name on a McDonald's meal since Michael Jordan and the McJordan burger way back in 1992 ... no wonder fans are making such a big fuss.

Wiz Khalifa says don't be fooled by the marijuana-inspired menu for his upcoming delivery-only restaurant chain ... because you don't have to light up to bite down on this food.

We got the rapper leaving Mr. Chow in Bev Hills and our camera guy asked him the hard-hitting question about his new restaurant venture, "HotBox by Wiz" -- namely, is it a stoners only establishment??

'HotBox' is definitely catering to the cannabis crowd ... with a "top-shelf munchie menu" featuring burnt ends rebranded as "blazed ends" and a "mile-high dark chocolate brownie."

However, Wiz told us you don't have to smoke weed to place an order -- it's for everyone, whether you're stone-cold sober or blazed outta your mind. There is one requirement though ... ya just gotta be hungry.

The virtual restaurant venture is scheduled to start delivering Oct. 1 in Chicago, Houston, L.A. and New York City ... and Wiz tells us what he's looking forward to ordering.

Safe bet he'll blaze up beforehand ... but no peer pressure for the rest of you!

This pooch went from not lovin' it to REALLY lovin' it ... and all it took was a little Heinz-sight.

Let's face it ... McDonald's has some of the best french fries out there in fast food land, but plain 'ol fries aren't cutting it for this German Shepard mix. The K-9 turns its nose on the naked fry.

But then ... the owner ups the game with the condiment of choice -- ketchup. The dog attacks the partially red target ... gobbling it up with no reservations.

We got to wondering ... is this a good advertisement for Mickey D's? Humans dig fries even without ketchup, but we're guessing the majority of dog owners prefer their fries with the red stuff.

If you don't think people's nerves have been frayed during the pandemic, check out this scene from Dunkin' Donuts.

An enraged customer swung the front door open as she charged in the donut shop, demanding answers from an employee she claims threw a bag at her friend in the drive-thru.

As she screams at the employee, he implores her to stop speaking to him like that. He gets emotional as he walks away, and then the customer sets her sights on another employee, demanding that the employee in question gets fired.

The woman claims when she and her friend went through the drive-thru, the employee got their order wrong, so they drove back to get it done right. The woman says the employee threw the bag at her friend's head.

The manager at DD asked the 2 women to return the next day. He told them the employee was having a bad day and, coincidentally, it was his last day on the job. The manager said the employee was not fired ... Friday was going to be his last day even before the incident.

As Dr. Seuss might say ... this owl made him howl, and it's all because of the owl's bowels.

This dude probably thought he had one cool video to post on Instagram after someone with a pet owl popped into the restaurant where he was eating. The owl somehow ends up on his head, which amuses him to no end. And, speaking of ends, he didn't know what was coming.

The little girls who had to use a Taco Bell's Wi-Fi for school have been blessed with thousands of dollars in donations -- money that'll be put to good use ... TMZ has learned.

Jackie Lopez, the woman running the GoFundMe page soliciting funds for the family in the viral photo, raised $142k-plus thus far ... and a good chunk of that will go toward the children's education.

Lopez says the girls' mom, Juana, plans on starting a college fund for her three kids -- two of whom were seen sitting outside of a Taco Bell with their laptops and notepads. The third child is only a year old, but Juana's focusing on the long play.

Juana also wants to use some of the money for therapy for her kids. She says the family's been in and out homelessness and it's likely had an effect on the kids, so she wants her daughters to talk to a professional.

Juana's now looking to buy a mobile home in Salinas. On top of that, Lopez says Juana will upgrade the ice cream cart she uses for work ... one of many things she does to earn a living.

You'll recall ... the photo of Juana's two girls caused quite a stir. Elected officials said it was emblematic of the digital divide in minority communities, and clearly folks were concerned.

A Nebraska man had a helluva pitch for his local City Council leaders -- making no bones about the fact that so-called "boneless" chicken wings are the scourge of society.

This is a real thing that recently went down in Lincoln, NE -- where a well-to-do citizen, Ander Christensen, got up during the public comment section to air his grievances about this widespread problem that he felt was ruining a way of life for Americans.

At first, it sounds like he's talking about a major social issue -- like LGBT rights, racism or something -- but instead, he pivots to poultry ... as in chicken wings. Watch for yourself.

The man gave a passionate speech about how the phrase "boneless chicken wings" absolutely must be retired in Lincoln, across menus from all over the city's many restaurants. Why??? Because he says it's a bald-faced lie, straight up.

He makes some great points -- basically, boneless chicken wings are really just mini chicken tenders ... but restaurant-goers continue to live in a fantasy. He's got some alternative names in mind -- and they're not half bad. BTW, the dude is dead serious here ... or so it seems.

Laugh if you must, but don't clip this guy's wings just yet ... clipping the name will do just fine.

Did Tony Hawk just one-up Katie Ledecky?!

The skate legend is now part of the new viral Got Milk ad campaign -- and man, the milk people are getting their money's worth!!

After Ledecky swam across a pool with a glass of milk on her head -- and didn't spill a drop -- Hawk decided to take the moo juice to the skate ramp!

Hawk bombed down while holding the glass of milk -- pulled off a McTwist -- and just like Katie, NO SPILLAGE!

Hawk explained how the trick came to be ... noting he was inspired by the U.S. Olympic swimmer.

"Inspired by @katieledecky, I tried to do a bunch of basic tricks without spilling to little success," Hawk said.

"So I tried this as a joke... and it worked (yes, it’s real). Got McTwist?"

They're calling it the #GotMilkChallenge -- and it's one of the best ad campaigns we've seen in a while.

Hell, with all of the "Hamilton" hype these days, they probably could have just brought back that famous Aaron Burr ad ... but we're glad they're innovating.

A woman put a McDonald's burger and fries in a shoebox 24 years ago and tucked it away ... revealing what it looks like nearly a quarter-century later, and ... well, we think it's impressive.

The fries look like they were made 30 minutes before, but the real shock is the burger. The bun has zero mold and the meat looks like it did at Micky D's back in the day.

So, here's the question ... WHY? Why didn't it rot? Why isn't there mold? What's the deal with the burger and fries?

It seems legit ... the bag certainly looks 24 years old.

Here's the thing about Malibu ... as fancy as it can be, it's also really just kinda a one-horse town, which Scott Disick learned all too well Friday night when he, Kourtney Kardashian and Sofia Richie all dined under the same roof.

Scott and Kourtney hit up Nobu in Malibu, a favorite of celebs these days. It seems to be his go-to place. Thing is ... it was also his go-to place when he was dating Sofia for several years after his breakup with Kourtney, and she was there too.

Our Kardashian sources say Scott and Kourtney are friends with lots of history and great co-parents, but their relationship is strictly that and no more.

Angelina Jolie faced one of her toughest challenges ever -- getting all 6 of her kids organized and loaded into one vehicle for a family dinner, but she pulled it off.

The actress and her squad of not-so-little-ones -- Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Vivienne and Knox -- made a rare public appearance together Thursday night in Malibu to grab some grub at NOBU.

Angelina was looking pretty fancy, while her brood showed off an array of styles as they headed into the trendy restaurant ... and the whole fam rocked face masks.

As we reported ... pops Brad Pitt is outta town this week after jetting to France with stunning German model Nicole Poturalski.

So far, he's managed to keep his relationship with the model pretty low-profile, which is impressive ... but not quite as much as Angie's feat at NOBU. Seriously. Ever tried to hang with as few as 3 siblings?

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, is out and about visiting cornfields and assessing damage from storms ... just days after reports claiming he's on his death bed.

The dictator held an ear of corn and spoke with officials Thursday following Typhoon Bavi hitting the South Hwanghae Province this week ... and the photos obviously fly in the face of claims he's in a coma.

Of course, it's hard to know what to believe when it comes to North Korea and KJU, so it's anyone's guess.

As we reported ... Chang Song-min -- a former aide to the late S. Korean President Kim Dae-jung -- told South Korean media Kim was in a coma and close to death based on intel he'd received.

This news came shortly after N. Korea's own National Intelligence Service said that Kim would be gradually transferring some authority to his younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, to "ease stress."

So, the coma theory could be plausible ... but it might also just be a bunch of corny nonsense.