New York Times restaurant critic moves on

Sam Sifton, one of the country's most prominent restaurant critics, is leaving the beat. The restaurant critic at the New York Times for the last two years, he will become the paper's national editor, the newspaper's new editor-in-chief, Jill Abramson, announced Tuesday.

Sifton, the former New York Times culture editor, succeeded Frank Bruni, who had been the restaurant critic from 2004 to 2009. Bruni, in turn, replaced William Grimes, who had held the position from 1999 to 2004. Bruni is now an op-ed columnist for the paper while Grimes writes obituaries.

There was no immediate word of who would replace Sifton, though judging by history, the competition (and the rumormongering) should be hot and heavy. Let the games begin.

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