HE'S back! New York Times restaurant critic William "Biff" Grimes, whose long leave from the paper sparked all kinds of dire rumors, will resume reviewing soon. His duties since last spring were handled by former $25-and-Under man Eric Asimov. Grimes, who was out "researching" the city's culinary history for a New York Public Library show he curated, was asked about his future during a panel discussion with top chefs at the library the other day. Beacon's Waldy Malouf asked, "So when are you coming back?" Grimes answered: "Soon - a couple of weeks." - linda 11-23-2002 7:04 pm [link] [1 comment]