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Alison Pearlman

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

https://www.alisonpearlman.com

Genre

History, Art, Nonfiction

Member Since

December 2013

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Alison Pearlman is Professor Emerita of Art History at Cal Poly Pomona. She is also a McGinnis-Ritchie-award-winning writer of nonfiction. Her previous books—Unpackaging Art of the 1980s, Smart Casual: The Transformation of Gourmet Restaurant Style in America, and May We Suggest: Restaurant Menus and the Art of Persuasion—span contemporary art, design, and restaurants. All three subjects come to the fore in her latest: Meet Me at the West Beach Café: Art, Restaurants, and the Rebirth of L.A.

Pearlman lives in Los Angeles and writes regularly about restaurants, art, design, and Los Angeles in her Substack newsletter The Eye in Dining. Check it out and subscribe for free: https://theeyeindining.substack.com/

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	May We Suggest: Restaurant Menus and the Art of Persuasion 3.26 avg rating — 42 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Smart Casual: The Transformation of Gourmet Restaurant Style in America 3.36 avg rating — 36 ratings — published 2010 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Unpackaging Art of the 1980s really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2003 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Life, Death, Love, Hate, Pleasure, Pain: Selected Works from the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Collection by Elizabeth A.T. Smith, Alison Pearlman (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Julie Rodrigues Widholm (Contributor) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2003 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Meet Me at the West Beach Café: Art, Restaurants, and the Rebirth of L.A. (The Urban West Series) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Alison Pearlman…

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Alison Pearlman is currently reading

The Restaurants Book: Ethnographies of Where we Eat

by David Sutton

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Jun 22, 2026 11:39PM

Alison Pearlman is currently reading

The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World: The Twin Towers, Windows on the World, and the Rebirth of New York

by Tom Roston

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Jun 22, 2026 11:01PM

Alison Pearlman is currently reading

Ten Restaurants That Changed America

by Paul Freedman

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Jun 22, 2026 11:01PM

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Alison’s Recent Updates

Alison Pearlman wrote a new blog post Extreme Scenes: Where Hedonism and Artistic Radicalism Both Go for Broke Author cropped image from photo by Jim Syme on the cover of ‘We Started a Nightclub.’ Caption: “(L-R) John Sex, Tabboo!, and friends in the Pyramid b Read more of this blog post »
Jul 14, 2026 07:14AM · like
Alison Pearlman has read On the Menu (The Restaurant Secret Formula Book 2) by Ronald Bryant	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 22, 2026 11:56PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of On the Menu by Ronald Bryant. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — On the Menu by Ronald Bryant <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alison Pearlman has read Super Chef: The Making of the Great Modern Restaurant Empires by Juliette Rossant	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 22, 2026 11:53PM · like
Alison Pearlman has read Dishing It Out: In Search of the Restaurant Experience by Robert Appelbaum (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 22, 2026 11:49PM · like
Alison Pearlman has read At the Chef's Table: Culinary Creativity in Elite Restaurants by Vanina Leschziner	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 22, 2026 11:46PM · like
Alison Pearlman has read Lutece: A Day in the Life of America's Greatest Restaurant by Irene Daria (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 22, 2026 11:43PM · like
Alison Pearlman has read Gastrophysics: The Science of Dining from Restaurant to Party Tricks by Charles Spence	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 22, 2026 11:41PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Gastrophysics by Charles Spence. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Gastrophysics by Charles Spence <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alison Pearlman has read The Hunger: A Memoir of an Accidental Chef – Unabashed Stories from the Celebrity Hot Spot Restaurant in New York City by John Delucie	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 22, 2026 11:40PM · like
Alison Pearlman is currently reading The Restaurants Book: Ethnographies of Where we Eat by David Sutton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 22, 2026 11:39PM · like
Alison Pearlman has read Fashioning Appetite: Restaurants and the Making of Modern Identity (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History) by Joanne Finkelstein	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 22, 2026 11:38PM · like