APOCALYPSE: Frank Bruni Leaving Dining Section

Diner's Journal shares the epic news that New York Times restaurant critic, legend, lover, and dreamer Frank Bruni is leaving his job at the Dining Section at the end of August to write for the New York Times Magazine and promote his new memoir Born Round: the Secret History of a Full-Time Eater. The news won't come as a big surprise to people in the industry, who have been spreading rumors about his departure since his fourth year on the job. The Times has yet to name a replacement—though John Mariani probably isn't holding his breath. We'll be back for parts two through seventeen in our nonstop coverage of the Bruniocalypse. First, the letter from NYT head honcho Bill Keller:

Dear Colleagues:

When we recruited Frank Bruni from the Rome Bureau to be the restaurant critic of The New York Times, there was a quizzical buzz in the food-o-sphere. Sure, Frank had shown himself to be a gifted reporter on subjects domestic and foreign. Yes, he was indisputably an exquisite writer. And there were unmistakeable clues to his affinity in his travel pieces, with their vivid evocation of Italian food, and in other features — the profile of the makers of Italian grappa, the visit to the University of Gastronomic Science in Polenzo. But he lacked what the foodie establishment would regard as suitable credentials. He was not the obvious choice.

Five years later, the choice seems not only obvious, but inspired, proving that sometimes editors get one really right. Not content to review his way around New York with authority and brio, not content to blog discoveries that do not yet merit a fullblown review, he has also performed more ambitious feats of criticism: his unforgettable cross-country tour of the iconic fast food joints of America, for instance, and his quest for the best brand-new restaurants in all of America.

In his spare time, between aerobic eating and the requisite gym time to burn it all off, he has managed to produce a memoir of his lifelong, complicated relationship with food. Recognizing that the book is certain to seriously compromise his ability to be a spy in the land of food, Frank picked this as a natural time to move on. He will be turning in his restaurant-critic credentials when his memoir, “Born Round: the Secret
History of a Full-Time Eater,” is published in late August.

After a break for book promotion and some overdue vacation, Frank will become a writer-at-large on the staff of our Sunday magazine, where he will have license to follow his appetites — his journalistic appetites — whereever they lead him. Jill and I have insisted on the right to draft him occasionally for projects large or small, but the magazine will be his base and main outlet. Readers are in for some great reading.

As for the restaurant beat, the search for a successor begins now.

Bill