Cover Reveal! The Design for 'Meet Me at the West Beach Cafe: Art, Restaurants, and the Rebirth of L.A.' Has Venice, CA, 1979 Vibes
In addition to a proper cover, the book now has a publication date, a pre-order link, and, to my delighted surprise, endorsement from a legend in Los Angeles lit!
It was months ago when I learned that Meet Me at the West Beach Cafe: Art, Restaurants, and the Rebirth of L.A. had an official release date. Yet even with the specificity of January 19, 2027, my publication still felt abstract. Now that it has a cover design, I—along with you, my subscribers, with whom I share book news first—can finally imagine it as a full-fledged, real thing.
For me, this cover is especially gratifying because it adds a fitting point of entry to the cultural history inside.
There I tell a little-known story of how, in 1980s Los Angeles, several developments that may seem unrelated—the rise of ‘New American’ cuisine, the rebirth of L.A. as a world-renowned center for contemporary art, and the transformation of L.A. into a so-called global city—were deeply intertwined. Their fertile nexus was a series of trendsetting L.A. restaurants where art, food, and municipal politics met.
The main storyline extends from 1979 through 1986, with flashes back to decades past and one jump to the present. It also moves through varied territory—disparate L.A. neighborhoods, of course, but also some of New York City.
I didn’t think a cover should try to span all that. That would compromise each part and end up conveying nothing in particular. When the University of Nevada Press solicited my input, I said I hoped the cover would transport the reader to Venice Beach on the edge of the 1980s and a new cultural wave. I wanted it to conjure this atmospherically, topographically, and artistically—thus setting the tone for the narrative’s opening scene.
For inspiration, I referred to two items already planned for reproduction in the book, both made for the February 1979 opening of the Venice restaurant West Beach Cafe. One was a black-and-white photo advertisement for the restaurant, designed by Lauri Gaffin and Waldemar Kalinowski. Perhaps, if the artists allowed, the cover could borrow some portion of their image for a background? The photo had just the right aura: beach-y without being sunny, fashion-wise in period, and with a texture recalling a time when the news was tangible enough to stain your hands.
I also referred to photos of a mug designed by Peter Shire, one of 400 made for the restaurant’s opening: thick-lipped white porcelain with splatters of black, gray, yellow, blue, peach, and brown.
Through some inspired alchemical process, designer Louise OFarrell combined a portion of Gaffin and Kalinowski’s advertisement, a period-palette interpretation of paint splatters, and other era-conjuring details into the layout you see above.
Of course OFarrell knew just what to do with a book involving art and design! Check out her covers for books on related topics. She keeps a low profile, but I noticed that these two beauties from her body of work were chosen from a competitive juried process for differing years of the Association of University Presses’ Book, Jacket, and Journal Show: The Architecture of Alfred Browning Parker: Miami’s Maverick Modernist and Dreamhouses: Historic Beach Homes & Cottages of Naples.
At the top of this post, I said that my book didn’t feel real until it had a cover design. It’s also true that two other recent milestones had a similar effect.
Just as the cover took form, the book received an endorsement from none other than David L. Ulin. From this former Los Angeles Times book editor and critic, editor of the literary journal Air/Light, professor of English at the University of Southern California, co-director of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities at USC, and author or editor of books on the culture and literature of Los Angeles—including Sidewalking: Coming to Terms with Los Angeles, Los Angeles: Portrait of a City, and the indispensable Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology—I consider it a highlight of my life to read these words from him:
“Pearlman’s Meet Me at the West Beach Café is an ambitious, intelligent, and beautifully written book that recognizes Los Angeles as the liminal city it is. Well-researched yet deeply personal, it speaks to both scholars and general readers. Pearlman captures L.A. as a hybrid place where art, food, and culture blur into wonder, and where possibility sits at the heart of the city’s creative life.”
The other good news is that the pre-ordering link from University of Nevada Press is now live! Please grab yourself a copy. The book also makes a great gift for a friend or colleague who remembers L.A. in the 1970s and 1980s or simply for those who love a page turner of narrative nonfiction about the meeting of creative worlds and their impact on the history of the city, restaurants, design, and art.
Congratulations Alison!
That book cover is fantastic.