Eat Like Harry Potter

Did you know that a Harry Potter theme park is coming to Orlando, Florida?

The website for the park (The Wizarding World of Harry Potter) offers a glimpse of the future attractions, which will include recreations of the Hog’s Head and Three Broomsticks pubs from the Harry Potter books. There's not much more information to glean (except for the rendering of Three Broomsticks pictured here), but Nation's Restaurant News reports the menus will feature traditional British fare and drinks, and, yes, butterbeer will be served (pumpkin juice, too).

The theme park is set to open in spring 2010.

A Taste of "Bitter Feast"

Here's the trailer for "Bitter Feast," an upcoming low-budget horror film about a chef who takes revenge on a food critic. Mario Batali (not featured in the trailer) plays the owner of the restaurant.

Tobey Maguire as Grant Achatz?

Ponyo Toy Chases Ham in Your Tub

In Ponyo, the just-released Japanese animated film about a little goldfish who yearns to be a girl, the main character expresses her desire for things human with a particular predilection for ham. A Ponyo water toy made for the Japanese market allows you to re-enact the moment in the privacy of your own bathtub. Yank on the plastic ham, which is attached by a cord to Ponyo's mouth, and she will quickly chase the meat down. $18 at eCrater.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking Is a Bestseller

Sales of Julia Child's masterwork are booming as Julie & Julia arrives in theaters. According to a press release from Random House, Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking rose to #1 at both Amazon and B&N.com over the past weekend and is currently #3 at independent booksellers across the U.S. The 1961 cookbook also debuts today on USA Today’s best sellers list. Next week, it will appear on Publishers Weekly’s hardcover nonfiction best sellers list at #6.

Julie Powell Speaks

A fascinating essay by Julie Powell distancing herself from the "Julie Powell" of Julie & Julia: "Ephron's Julie, adorably depicted by Amy Adams, shares with me some traits, history, and relationships, but is emphatically not me."

Just Another "Julie & Julia" Review

Does the world need another food blogger's take on Julie & Julia, the film adaptation of the book Julie and Julia, which was, of course, an adaption of the blog "The Julie/Julia Project"? Probably not, but as the one millionth food blogger to attend a free screening, here goes.

Overall, I found myself liking the film. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie, and in particular, Meryl Streep's performance. At times, it's hard to see past the cartoonish impression of Julia Child's peculiar mannerisms (a clip of Dan Aykroyd's spoof of Child on "Saturday Night Live" that actually appears in the film doesn't stray so far away from Streep's), but on the whole, she succeeds in turning the icon into a real person. Julia's relationship with her husband, Paul, and the scenes with her sister, another tall, gawky, and outspoken creature, are particularly humanizing.

Drunk on Butterbeer: Does Hogwarts Have a Teen Drinking Problem?

The New York Times is on the case of a potentially disturbing trend towards underage drinking in schools. Wizard schools, that is.

The latest movie in the Harry Potter series depicts a teenage Potter and company enjoying quite a few "butterbeers." The drinking has apparently raised some eyebrows, even if the alcoholic content of butterbeer is never stated.

"Super-Size Me" to Become a Graphic Novel

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Morgan Spurlock, director of the 2004 documentary "Super-Size Me," is partnering with Dark Horse Comics to create a graphic novel adapting true "tales from the fast-food underbelly" that never made it into the film.

The book, entitled Supersized: Strange Tales From a Fast Food Culture, will feature "MC Supersized" (right) -- an obese Ronald McDonald-esque clown created by artist Ron English to promote the film -- as a "guide through the stories, in the same way the Crypt Keeper hosted the ghoulish stories in EC Comics' 'Tales From the Crypt.'"

"As great as they were on paper, I think they'll be better told in a graphic-novel form," Spurlock said of the stories that will comprise the comic. "They're funny, they're gross, and hopefully they'll be informative too."

Story via @atlantic_food.

Mario Batali, Thespian

According to Wes Anderson fan site The Rushmore Academy, chef Mario Batali will voice the role of "Rabbit" in Anderson's upcoming animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox, an adaptation of the Roald Dahl book.