New York Times Names Pete Wells as Restaurant Critic

Confirming the rumors, The New York Times dining editor Pete Wells will take over the post of restaurant critic, replacing the outgoing Sam Sifton, the paper announced internally today. Late last week, Politico's Dylan Byers reported that Pete Wells, already the paper's dining editor, would take over for Sam Sifton as the dining critic. He also got the New York Times internal memo that announced the news. Susan Edgerley, an assistant managing editor, will take over as dining editor.

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Update 5:16 p.m. The New York Times's Media Decoder blog has confirmed both appointments. They posted the internal memo to the staff, which read in part, "We knew we were on the right track when more than one of the dozens of applicants around the country opened their queries by saying, 'Pete should be the critic, but I'm available if you don't pick him.'"