Sen. Ted Cruz could have taken a big bite out of Donald Trump's lead when we lobbed him a question about his favorite subject ... soup!

Ted's made no secret about his love for Campbell's soup, so our photog asked what's his favorite kind. Mind you, he's trailing Trump and John Kasich in NY, where Tuesday's key primary is being held.

Check out the video ... apparently, the senator thought he was in Dixieland, instead of Yankeeland. Our photog gave him what would've been the right answer to suck up to NYC voters.

#BlownOpportunity

Nothing says "18-year-old NBA millionaire pimp" like loaded potato skins ... just ask Kobe Bryant who took Tamar Braxton on a date to Friday's. 

Braxton was dishing about her "sorta" date with Kobe on "The Real" (airs April 13th, check local listings) -- saying the two got dinner in Philly right after Mamba got drafted back in 1996 ... but the vibe was more friendly than freaky. 

In the end, Braxton says the two ended up as "homies." 

Moral of the story ... if Friday's is good enough for Kobe Bryant, it's good enough for you! 

#DontLaugh #SesameJackChickenStripsAreBomb #DittoForOreoMadness

Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna look like their weekly cheat day has become cheat DAYS -- they started their day by pulling through a McDonald's drive-thru for breakfast.

No word if they got any hash browns (wouldn't blame 'em) ... but we can see they got OJ. Not the worst diet slipup, but the sugar could be an issue.

In the last month they've hit up a couple of In-N-Outs and even pulled over for ice cream on the side of the road.

As they say, quitting is easy ... when you've done it a hundred times.

Abigail Ratchford's milkshake dripping, booby bouncing homage to In-N-Out ain't bringing the burger joint's execs to the yard -- they're demanding she take down her viral video ... or else.

In-N-Out lawyers fired off a letter sent to the model's producer, Liverichmedia ... saying they've been flooded with complaints over a video posted last month showing Abby in "various sexually suggestive acts with In-N-Out Burger food."

At first viewing (second, third and fourth too) ... the "Dream Girl" clip might seem like a great plug, but the burger bosses are worried customers will think they're in bed with Ratchford -- which they say doesn't mesh with the company's image.

If it isn't taken down immediately, In-N-Out says it will likely serve up a lawsuit. Fresh. 

'Iron Chef' star Cat Cora was stabbed in the back by her estranged wife, who intentionally ignored PR 101 -- let the celebrity file for divorce against the nobody.  

According to documents filed in the divorce between Cat and Jennifer Cora, Cat's lawyer fired off an angry letter to Jennifer's mouthpiece, claiming they had a deal -- Cat would file the divorce petition for "public relations" reasons. Translation ... make it clear Cat was leaving Jennifer. 

According to the letter, when Cat was flying somewhere, Jennifer backstabbed her and had her lawyer file for divorce. Cat's lawyer says Jennifer clearly did this out of spite. 

The letter, written last October right after the petition was filed, was just included in the court file but makes it clear how nasty this divorce got.  

Cat's lawyer also accused Jennifer of trash-talking Cat to their kids' school and to mutual friends.

It hasn't gotten better ... Cat wants Jennifer to submit to a vocational analysis ... in other words, she needs to get a job.  

Ex-NFL star Takeo Spikes says he had a racket at Augusta National when he was a kid -- slingin' the white stuff to rich people ... in the way of egg sandwiches. 

It's actually a pretty interesting story ... Spikes explains, "You know when you a kid and you don't have nothing, you go where the money is at."

And his hustle ... selling egg sammys. 

Now, Spikes is one of those rich guys he used to sell to ... and has become a golfer himself. In fact, he calls out a huge NBA star and vows to whoop his ass on the links. 

Check out the clip. 

Johnny Manziel says he's NOT the boozy party boy everyone thinks he is -- telling TMZ Sports he's NOT drinking (just eating at nice restaurants) and "staying on track."

A sober Manziel was leaving Le Jardin in Hollywood around 2 AM Friday morning when he told us, "I'm not really partying though. I'm just out with some buddies ... No drinking, hangin' with the boys."

He added, "I'm out at the spots. I'm eating dinner. I'm eating good food. I'm not doing anything crazy though. I'm being smart."

Stay tuned ... 

Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna found a fringe benefit to getting engaged -- cheat day with the ice cream man! 

Rob and Chyna turned their Range Rover around when they saw an ice cream truck parked on the side of the road. You'll recall they also made an In N' Out run last month to celebrate Rob's birthday.

As cheat days go, this ain't so bad -- they scored two bomb pops at about 40 calories each -- but still ... there's a pattern here.

The day after the wedding should be epic!

NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. just revealed to the world he happily eats mayonnaise and banana sandwiches ... and the world responded with appropriate disgust and shock.

Dale took to his Twitter account moments ago and posted a picture of the half-made mayo and 'nana monstrosity, with the caption "Making my favorite sandwich. I swear it's delicious. @Hellmanns."

Obviously no one believed him ... and the reaction in the Twittosphere was swift with Dale getting clowned mercilessly in his comments section. Here are some of the best.

"@DaleJr is this a cry for help?"

”@DaleJrIs this some sort of sick joke?"

"@DaleJr Perhaps South Carolina or Tennessee will welcome you and your shenanigans with open arms but that will not be tolerated here."

Different strokes for different folks we guess ... some strokes are revolting though.

There were tons of big stars at Craig's Thursday night -- Viola Davis, Paul Haggis, Nick Jonas -- but Kim Kardashian only stopped to talk to one person ... Saints head coach Sean Payton. 

A TMZ staffer inside the restaurant saw the whole thing unfold ... Kim walked into the joint with her good friend Lil' Kim in tow -- "The entire restaurant stopped to look at them. People were in awe."

Kim noticed Payton sitting with 4 other dudes at a table in the middle of the restaurant -- and walked right past other stars (including Haggis) to say what up! 

Payton got out of his seat and gave Kim a huge hug -- and congratulated her for a recent accomplishment. She was very appreciative. 

Of course, the two go wayyy back ... they first met around 2007 when Kim was dating Reggie Bush who played for Payton's Saints. 

Nearly 10 years later ... and with Bush out of the picture for both parties ... they clearly still like each other. Wonder if she's still a Saints fan? 

Snoop Dogg's about to become way more than just a music legend ... if he's serious about saving L.A.'s iconic restaurant, Roscoe's Chicken N Waffles.

We got Snoop and Warren G outside Lure Nightclub Tuesday night and brought up the biggest news in Hollywood -- that the parent company of Roscoe's just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Snoop hadn't heard, and was floored -- you gotta see his reaction -- but he immediately started thinking about how to save the hot spot ... where he's a regular, mind you.

Check out his plan -- we're guessing Roscoe's fans won't care about a name change ... if the chicken's still hot!

Red Bull energy drink got one guy so hyped up on caffeine it destroyed his heart, and his family says the company knew about the medical risk ... but did nothing to warn consumers. 

Ann Lemley is suing the energy drink giant over her 44-year-old son William's 2014 death. In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, she says William died after ingesting "toxic amounts of caffeine and other chemicals" in Red Bull. 

Lemley points out in the suit ... multiple studies have been done about the negative health consequences of the popular beverage. She claims Red Bull fails to alert its customers to risks associated with the drink ... including hypertension and cardiovascular conditions. 

Her son ultimately died of a string of heart ailments. 

Lemley's suing for more than $35 million in damages. We've reached out to Red Bull, but have not heard back. 

7:30 A.M. PST -- A rep for the company tells TMZ, "Over 60 billion cans of Red Bull Energy Drink have been consumed since it first went on sale in 1987 and it is available in over 165 countries because health authorities around the world have concluded that it is safe to consume.

The European Food Safety Authority has recently again confirmed the safety of energy drinks. So, there is no justification to treat energy drinks differently than coffee, tea or other caffeine containing soft drinks. One 250 ml (8.4 fl oz) can of Red Bull Energy Drink contains about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee (80 mg)."

Snoop Dogg and President Obama's favorite wing and waffle stop, Roscoe's House of Chicken N Waffles, might be shutting its doors because its parent company just filed for Chapter 11.

East Coast Foods Inc., whose president Herb Hudson founded Roscoe's, filed the bankruptcy docs last Friday claiming the company has less than $50k in assets, but somewhere between $10-$50 million in debt.

The L.A. institution counts Kobe Bryant, Kendrick Lamar, David Beckham, Cindy Crawford, Denzel Washington and many more as fans.

They're all in luck ... a rep for the company had no comment on the bankruptcy, but did stress that people should keep going to their restaurants.