Leslie Brenner

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LESLIE BRENNER is now the restaurant critic and dining editor at the Dallas Morning News.


Follow her on Twitter.
And read her latest reviews and columns at GuideLive.

DISH OF THE WEEK


Insalata con le Sarde

Craving the flavors of the Sicilian dish pasta con le sarde (pasta with sardines), but (weirdly) not in the mood for pasta, I tossed together this simple salad of arugula, canned sardines, currants (plumped first in hot water) and toasted pine nuts -- dressed with aged sherry vinegar and some good, fresh, fruity olive oil. It was fabulous with a glass of Sicilian Tenuta delle Terre Nere, an earthy white wine from Etna.

Selected Works

Literary Food Writing
The Fourth Star: Dispatches from Inside Daniel Boulud's Celebrated New York Restaurant
Within every fine restaurant, there exist two worlds: the elegant, hushed environment of the dining room and the chaotic, explosive, high-tension scene behind the swinging doors. The Fourth Star, a ground-breaking book that defined a new genre of food writing, takes the reader into the world of the four-star restaurant, examining in minute detail every aspect of how a great restaurant is run.
American Appetite
"Lively and informative and will certainly make you laugh....Brenner sees our food tastes in terms of historical or sociological perspective...interweaving the personal and anecdotal in her text."--Ann Beattie, in Bon Appétit
Literary Fiction
Greetings From the Golden State
The critically-acclaimed, darkly comic novel about a dysfunctional Southern California family. A Los Angeles Times "Best Book" of 2001.
Other food writing
The Art of the Cocktail Party
"Here is the perfect reintroduction to that most civilized social ritual, the cocktail party...very charming and quite through."--Anthony Dias Blue, Wine and Spirits Editor, Bon Appétit

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