Eric Asimov

Eric Asimov (born July 17, 1957) is an American wine critic and food critic for ''The New York Times''.

Early life

Asimov was born in Bethpage, New York, the son of Stanley Asimov, former vice-president for editorial administration at ''Newsday'', and Ruth Asimov, a ceramic artist. He is a nephew of author Isaac Asimov and brother of ''San Francisco Chronicle'' writer Nanette Asimov.

Asimov attended Wesleyan University, graduating in 1980. He did graduate work in American studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Asimov married fellow Wesleyan graduate Jacalyn Lee in 1989; the couple later divorced. Asimov has been married to Deborah Hofmann, former editor of ''The New York Times'' Best Seller List, since 2001. Hoffman now works at The David Black Literary Agency as an agent.''The New York Times'
Biography: Eric Asimov
/ref>

Career

Having previously worked for ''The Chicago Sun-Times'', Asimov began working for ''The New York Times'' in 1984 as an editor in national news. From 1991 to 1994, he was the editor of the Living Section and, from 1994 to 1995 he edited the Styles of The Times section.

In 1992, Asimov conceived and wrote the "$25 and Under" column, dedicated to "restaurants where people can eat lavishly for $25 and under." After several years of penning the column, the term "$25 and under" became less literal and more suggestive of inexpensive fare. Until 1997, the column appeared in the Weekend Section. It then moved to Wednesdays in the "Dining In, Dining Out" section. From 1995 to 1998 Asimov published yearly compilations of the $25 and Under columns as books.

From 2000 to 2004, Asimov co-authored the annual ''New York Times Guide to Restaurants in New York City'' with Ruth Reichl and William Grimes.

Asimov became the chief wine critic of ''The New York Times'' in 2004, and the "$25 and Under" column was assigned to other critics.The Times Names a New Restaurant Critic
''The New York Times'', April 9, 2004. Asimov had been writing about wine since 1999. As chief wine critic, he writes two columns, "The Pour" and "Wines of the Times" (or occasionally "Beers of the Times"), both of which appear in the paper on an alternating bi-weekly schedule. In March 2006, Asimov began writing a wine blog, also titled "The Pour".Eric Asimov.
Easy to Pour
, ''The New York Times'', March 14, 2006.

Asimov has also done freelance work for other publications, including ''Food & Wine Magazine'', ''Details'', ''Martha Stewart Living'' and ''Sommelier Journal''.

Between 1999 and 2004, Asimov had a daily spot on ''The New York Times''-owned radio station WQXR (at around 8:25 AM) during which he critiqued food and wine. When he became chief wine critic of ''The New York Times'' in 2004, he reduced his time on WQXR to a weekly spot on wine. After ''The New York Times'' sold the station to WNYC, the new ownership eliminated many WQXR features. Mr. Asimov's name is not listed as a host on the current 018station list of hosts.

Bibliography

*''$25 and Under: A Guide to the Best Inexpensive Restaurants in New York, 1995''
*''$25 and Under: A Guide to the Best Inexpensive Restaurants in New York, 1996''
*''$25 and Under: A Guide to the Best Inexpensive Restaurants in New York, 1997''
*''$25 and Under: A Guide to the Best Inexpensive Restaurants in New York, 1998''

Co-authored with Ruth Reichl and William Grimes:

*''The New York Times Guide to Restaurants in New York City, 2000''
*''The New York Times Guide to Restaurants in New York City, 2001''
*''The New York Times Guide to Restaurants in New York City, 2002''
*''The New York Times Guide to Restaurants in New York City, 2003''
*''The New York Times Guide to Restaurants in New York City, 2004''

See also

*List of wine personalities

References

External links

Eric Asimov biography
at ''The New York Times''
Eric Asimov
''The New York Times'' article archive
''"The Pour"'', Dining & Wine blog
by Eric Asimov

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asimov, Eric
1957 births
Living people
Wine critics
Critics employed by The New York Times
People from Bethpage, New York
Wesleyan University alumni
American restaurant critics
American male non-fiction writers
American people of Russian-Jewish descent