My Life as a Restaurant

by Alice May Brock

Few people know more about successful restaurants than Alice May Brock, the owner of the place made famous by a movie and a song. In this book, Alice tells her secrets in a wonderfully personal style: how she cooks, her favorite recipes, how she works with her staff, how she manages to create an ambience that is legendary.

142 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1975

About the author

Alice May Brock was an American artist, occasional author, and restaurateur. A resident of Massachusetts for her entire adult life, Brock owned and operated three restaurants in the Berkshires—The Back Room, Take-Out Alice, and Alice's at Avaloch—in succession between 1965 and 1979. The first of these inspired the title of Arlo Guthrie's 1967 song "Alice's Restaurant", which in turn inspired a 1969 film of the same name.

Reviews

[J Neely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Brock , immortalized in Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" song, relates her story of creating and running two restaurants in the 60's&70's with sections by her amicable and quirky colleagues. Interspersed with recipes from the restaurants and told in a conversational style. This was a joy to read, and feels like poking your head into the kitchen if you're already a fan.