Famous Food

Animal rights activist Varun Virlan says he's horrified at a video that has gone viral -- showing a woman seasoning and then air-frying two crabs while they were still alive!

ICYMI ... a TikToker posted a cooking video last week showing how she prepared a dish featuring blue crabs -- she seasons some potatoes and corn, then the live crustaceans themselves, before placing them, still alive, in a glass-bottom air-fryer and cooking them for 15 minutes, with the camera showing their demise.

We spoke to the Virlan, the digital media director of Animal Save Movement, who says videos like these are exactly the problem with how crabs are excluded from being considered protected animals -- like dogs, cats, horses -- and are seen more like vegetables than animals.

The feds would probably say Luigi Mangione got his just desserts on his birthday -- 'cause he had to nosh on some crappy prison food!!!

TMZ obtained a copy of Luigi's breakfast, lunch and dinner menus for his 27th birthday Tuesday, while locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.

And while much of the food is the type of stuff we all eat ...it all seems kind of nasty when you factor in the whole jailhouse aspect.

Zach Yadegari is an 18-year-old high school senior from Long Island, NY who founded a calorie-counting app that's worth tens of millions of dollars -- but that wasn't enough to gain admission to Ivy League schools ... and now he's going all LeBron James by taking his talents to South Beach.

The entrepreneur joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and we asked him how in the world he got rejected from top universities like Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Princeton and Yale.

Zach was still in high school when he rolled out Cal AI, an app that uses artificial intelligence to help people count calories ... all they have to do is snap a photo of their food and the app tells them how many calories are on their plate.

Megan Thee Stallion has partnered with the Popeyes restaurant chain for years, and it appears the H-Town hottie is stepping out on her own and building her own chicken shack!!!

On Tuesday, Meg donned a hard hat and joined the construction crew for a tour at her developing Popeyes location -- In Miami.

Judging from the early aughts, Meg's Popeyes will be one big party.

Rap legend Bun B's second act as a fast-food employee is going mighty swell ... his Trill Burgers franchise opened its 2nd location on Fry-day!!!

Bun's new location is posted up in 25 miles north of downtown Houston in Spring, Texas -- about an hour away from the flagship Trill Burgers in Houston.

The new hub is a 3K-square-foot revamped Dairy Queen and will introduce a new menu item -- Trill Lemonade, available in classic, strawberry and iced tea Arnold Palmer flavors.

Slutty Vegan owner Pinky Cole can't condone Wallo's divisive comments about supporting Black-owned businesses -- even if they're lacking, she says there's still a duty to uphold!!!

TMZ caught up with Pinky at LAX on Thursday where she told us she has no malice in her disagreement with the Million Dollarz Worth of Game co-host ... but she does indeed disagree.

Wallo called patronizing Black businesses off their race relations alone a "hustle" -- but Pinky says spenders gotta "lift as you climb" ... without her support, other operations won't have the chance to blow up like the successful restaurant chain Slutty Vegan did!!!

Pinky also dished on the DEI ... as a successful -- and Black -- business owner, her personal experiences often leave her as the only minority in the room, and she feels programs to allot diversity are still needed.

She's overcome recent obstacles ... nearly losing her Slutty Vegan brand to the clutches of corporate overspending to the tune of $10 million, but she has a new refocus that has her back in the driver's seat.

Cops say a prankster tried to throw Gordon Ramsay into the frying pan ... calling in a bogus 911 report of a shooting at the famous chef's Los Angeles home.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... LAPD officers responded to the call at 8:40 PM Tuesday after an unknown person called in a report of a gunman opening fire at Gordon's mansion in Bel Air.

But, we're told when the cops arrived, they didn't find so much as a dish out of place ... police say they even spoke with neighbors who confirmed nothing had happened. Our sources say Ramsay was not home at the time.

Dylan Meyer is now happily married to Kristen Stewart ... and she's showing off her gold wedding band for the world to see.

TMZ obtained a photo of Dylan dressed casually in a T-shirt and sweatpants outside her Los Angeles home -- flashing her shiny new ring --- after she tied the knot with the famous actress in a private ceremony Sunday.

The photog snapped the pic Monday and it captures Dylan greeting an Uber Eats delivery driver, who handed her food from Joe & the Juice cafe.

Barack and Michelle Obama appear to be going strong despite ongoing rumors about the state of their marriage ... the former first couple was seen out at dinner Saturday night at Osteria Mozza, a fancy restaurant in Georgetown, in Washington, D.C.

The Obamas' periodic dinner outings have not put to rest rumors about marriage troubles and a possible divorce ... after Michelle was absent from some recent official events, and Barry himself was seen out to dinner without her in March.

The Obamas were warmly greeted by the crowd at the eatery Saturday, with cheers and a round of applause accompanying them as they walked to their table.

Kanye West and Bianca Censori aren't just meeting up for dinner and a drink ... they're spending a ton of time together -- including arriving side by side to their rendezvous.

TMZ has obtained video of the two stars pulling up to Indian fusion restaurant Cala d’Or Friday evening ... a gourmet spot on Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands.

It's a short clip ... but, KW -- who appears to be wearing a black mask like we've seen him wearing in the past -- and BC are clearly comfortable around one another, walking into the restaurant after seemingly arriving in the same car.

Capitals fans looking for a few more carbs to fuel their fandom during Washington's upcoming postseason run are in luck ... the team just revealed it's offering its supporters a massive pretzel during games -- that's Alex Ovechkin-themed!!

"The Great 8 Pretzel" is making its debut this month at Capital One Arena ... as Washington's NHL squad gets set to face the Canadiens in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Aramark Sports + Entertainment -- which is providing the grub to the arena -- says it's made with homemade dough ... and will come with two sides -- an Old Bay crab dip as well as a spicy cheese dip.

Don Lemon’s spilling more tea on Wendy Williams' situation at her assisted living facility -- especially the food, which apparently isn’t exactly satisfying her tastes.

The TV personality spoke to TMZ about his recent dinner with Wendy ... saying she was in great spirits and really enjoying her food -- because, as he put it, you can only imagine the grub at the Coterie in NYC isn’t exactly top-tier.

Wendy’s been vocal about feeling like a prisoner at the facility, but there are folks out there saying it’s karma for all the trash she talked about others during her career.

Waymo driverless cars cars might not be sentient yet ... but, at least one tried to pick up a bite to eat Monday night -- and ended up causing a massive traffic jam at Chick-fil-A.

Hungry night owls tried to hit up a storefront for the popular chicken chain in Santa Monica Monday night ... only to fall in line behind a Waymo taxi, which stalled out in a drive-thru entrance.

Photos show the car has its lights on, but no one's home -- quite literally, in this case. Eyewitnesses told KTLA-TV workers crowded around the vehicle around 9:30 PM as it attempted to back up, before screeching to a halt again ... probably realizing it didn't have the money for a meal.

Coffee Mate was left in complete shock after Sunday's "The White Lotus" HBO series finale ... not knowing the partnership they did with Mike White’s show in January would lead to one of the most intense moments of the season months later!!!

The brand tells TMZ that despite the memes taking social media by storm, they can confirm that Coffee Mate did not have visibility into "The White Lotus" finale. When finalizing its two limited-edition flavored creamers, the HBO x Warner Bros. team had kept this season’s script under lock and key. A brand rep tells TMZ ... “We had no idea the pivotal role it would play!”

On Instagram, the company posted its awkward reaction to the show’s finale, attributing to  the close connection with the flavors they announced in early January. ICYDK, a beverage plays a significant part toward the end.