ERIC ASIMOV is the chief wine critic of The New York Times, a position he assumed in June 2004 after having covered wine with The Times’s tasting panel and in his Tastings column for the Dining section, and is also the interim chief restaurant critic for the Times. Asimov created the $25 and Under restaurant reviews in 1992 and wrote them through 2004. He is a co-author of “The New York Times Guide to Restaurants 2004,” the fifth edition of the guide. He has also reviewed takeout food for The Times in his To Go column and has offered commentary on food and wine on WQXR since 1999. His freelance work previously appeared in Food and Wine, Details, and Martha Stewart Living. His first book, “$25 and Under: A Guide to the Best Inexpensive Restaurants in New York,” was published annually by HarperCollins from 1995 to 1998. At The Times, he was editor of the Living section from 1991 to 1994 and editor of Styles of The Times from 1994 to 1995. Asimov is a graduate of Wesleyan University and did graduate work in American studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He is married to the editor of the New York Times Bestseller List, Deborah Hofmann, has two children, Jack and Peter, and lives in Manhattan.