William Grimes (journalist)

Last updated

William Grimes
Born (1950-07-25) July 25, 1950 (age 74)
Alma mater Indiana University Bloomington;
University of Chicago
Occupation(s)Journalist
food writer

William H. "Biff" Grimes (born July 25, 1950) is an American food writer, magazine writer, culture reporter, theater columnist, restaurant critic, book reviewer and obituary writer for The New York Times . [1] He is the author of four books on food and drink in the United States, including the recent work Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Grimes was born in Houston, Texas. In 1973, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Indiana University Bloomington, where he graduated with honors. In 1974, he received a Master of Arts in English from the University of Chicago and in 1982 earned his Ph.D. in comparative literature. He also received a Whiting Fellowship.

Career

In April 1999, Grimes was named restaurant critic at The New York Times. Prior, he served as a reporter in the style department, where he wrote in the dining section since September 1997. From October 1991 until September 1997 he worked as a reporter on the cultural desk where he reviewed independent film, visual art, and books.

Grimes joined The New York Times in May 1989 as a story editor and writer. Before working for The Times, he was the executive editor for Avenue Magazine from September 1986 to May 1989 while also contributing to The New York Times Magazine.

He was a copy editor for Esquire magazine from April 1984 to September 1986. He also wrote on cocktails for the magazine.

From April 1980 to April 1984, he was associate editor of Macmillan Publishing, where he worked to translate the Great Soviet Encyclopedia into English.

Grimes features prominently in the 2017 documentary Obit , about the New York Times obituaries desk. [3]

Awards and honors

In 1998, Grimes was nominated for a James Beard Foundation award for his work on a Dining article titled "Is America Ready for Bunny Ragout?" In 1993, he was awarded the Press Club of Long Island award for his reporting for "Who Painted this Picture?" [4]

Personal

Grimes is married and he and his wife live in Astoria, Queens.

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmopolitan (cocktail)</span> Cocktail made with vodka

A cosmopolitan, or, informally, a cosmo, is a cocktail made with vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, and freshly squeezed or sweetened lime juice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows on the World</span> Defunct restaurant in New York City

Windows on the World was a complex of dining, meeting, and entertainment venues on the top floors of the North Tower of the original World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Claiborne</span> American restaurant critic, food journalist and book author

Craig Claiborne was an American restaurant critic, food journalist and book author. A long-time food editor and restaurant critic for The New York Times, he was also the author of numerous cookbooks and an autobiography. Over the course of his career, he made many contributions to gastronomy and food writing in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuzzy navel</span> Mixed drink made from peach schnapps and orange juice

A fuzzy navel is a mixed drink made from peach schnapps and orange juice. Generally an equal amount of each component is used to concoct it, although quantities may vary. It can also be made with lemonade or a splash of vodka depending on the drinker's taste. The addition of another 1 or 1+12 oz of vodka to the fuzzy navel creates a "hairy navel", the more "hair" referring to the increased strength of alcohol in the drink. A "Hairy Navel" or "Fuzzy Russian" recipe may include 1 part vodka, 1 part peach schnapps, and 4 parts orange juice.

Sylvia Zipser Schur was an American food columnist and innovator. She wrote many cookbooks and has been credited with developing Clamato and Cran-Apple juice. She also wrote recipes for Ann Page and Betty Crocker and helped develop menus for restaurants, including the Four Seasons in Manhattan. Schur was a columnist for PM, Seventeen, Look, Woman's Home Companion, and PARADE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Zimmern</span> American chef

Andrew Scott Zimmern is an American chef, restaurateur, television and radio personality, director, producer, businessman, food critic, and author. Zimmern is the co-creator, host, and consulting producer of the Travel Channel television series Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern,Bizarre Foods America, Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations, Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World, Dining with Death, The Zimmern List, and Andrew Zimmern's Driven by Food, as well as the Food Network series The Big Food Truck Tip. For his work on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, he was presented the James Beard Foundation Award four times: in 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2017. Zimmern hosts a cooking webseries on YouTube, Andrew Zimmern Cooks. Another show, What's Eating America, premiered on MSNBC in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ward 8 (cocktail)</span> Cocktail originating in 1898 in Boston, USA

The Ward 8 or Ward Eight is a cocktail originating in 1898 in Boston, Massachusetts, at the bar of the Gilded Age restaurant Locke-Ober.

Charles Henry Baker Jr. was an American author best known for his culinary and cocktail writings. These books have become highly collectible among cocktail aficionados and culinary historians.

We are still heartily of the opinion that decent libation supports as many million lives as it threatens; donates pleasure and sparkle to more lives than it shadows; inspires more brilliance in the world of art, music, letters, and common ordinary intelligent conversation, than it dims.

Eric Asimov is an American wine and food critic for The New York Times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Thomas (bartender)</span> American bartender (1830–1885)

Jeremiah P. Thomas was an American bartender who owned and operated saloons in New York City. Because of his pioneering work in popularizing cocktails across the United States as well, he is considered "the father of American mixology". In addition to writing the seminal work on cocktails, Bar-Tender's Guide, Thomas displayed creativity and showmanship while preparing drinks and established the image of the bartender as a creative professional. As such, he was often nicknamed "Professor" Jerry Thomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slippery nipple</span> Layered cocktail shooter

The slippery nipple is a layered cocktail shooter most commonly composed of Baileys Irish Cream and sambuca. When prepared properly, the ingredients remain in two distinct visible layers due to the relative densities of the ingredients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Arnold</span> American chef and museum founder

Dave Arnold is the founder and president of the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD); the host of the radio show Cooking Issues; an owner of Booker and Dax, a food and drink research lab in New York; a food science writer and editor; the author of Liquid Intelligence: The Art & Science of the Perfect Cocktail; and an innovator in the field of culinary technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woo woo</span> Alcoholic beverage made of vodka, peach schnapps, and cranberry juice

A woo woo is an alcoholic beverage made of vodka, peach schnapps, and cranberry juice. It is typically served as a cocktail in a highball glass or can be served as a shot. It can also be served in a rocks glass. The ingredients are shaken together with ice or stirred. A lime wedge is used as a garnish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago cocktail</span> Brandy-based mixed drink

The Chicago cocktail is a brandy-based mixed drink probably named for the city of Chicago, Illinois. It has been documented in numerous cocktail manuals dating back to the 19th century. Chicago restaurant critic John Drury included it in his 1931 guide Dining in Chicago, noting that it had been served at the American Bar in Nice and the Embassy Club in London. Whether it originated in Chicago is unknown.

Michael Carver Batterberry was an American food writer who founded and edited Food & Wine and Food Arts together with his wife, Ariane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Browne's Chop House</span>

Browne's Chop House was a New York City restaurant that was popular with the theatrical crowd. It closed in 1925.

<i>Obit</i> (film) 2016 American film

Obit is a 2016 documentary film about the obituary writers at The New York Times.

Eater is a food website by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Lockhart Steele and Ben Leventhal in 2005, and originally focused on dining and nightlife in New York City. Eater launched a national site in 2009, and covered nearly 20 cities by 2012. Vox Media acquired Eater, along with two others comprising the Curbed Network, in late 2013. In 2017, Eater had around 25 local sites in the United States, Canada, and England. The site has been recognized twelve times by the James Beard Foundation Awards.

A Lobster Palace was a large, expensive, lavishly designed and decorated dining establishment, popular with the affluent and famous in New York City and other major cities in the United States from the late 1890s to the 1910s. The restaurants, a nexus of high society for about 14 years, acquired their moniker from what was regarded as their most characteristic dish, the expensive and, then fashionable, lobster.

References

  1. Koblin, John (March 7, 2008). "William Grimes Is New Obit Writer for the Times". Observer.com . Archived from the original on March 10, 2008. Bill Keller sent out a 384-word memo this morning announcing that William Grimes will become the new obit writer for the paper.
  2. Gathje, Curt (October 26, 2009). "Grimes Comes Clean". Zagat.com.
  3. Burr, Ty (May 18, 2017). "Deadlines and dead subjects in 'Obit'". The Boston Globe . Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  4. "William Grimes". The New York Times. Retrieved July 20, 2013.