How do you use xlsread with MATLAB and OS X?

Question

When trying to call xlsread, I get the warning:

Warning: Could not start Excel server for import, \'basic\' mode will be used. Refer to HELP XLSREAD

Answer 1

There are two main options:

1. Upgrade to R2012b, which allows reading sheets and ranges in Excel files on all platforms

2. Use any of the (somewhat involved) approaches discussed in this post of Undocumented Matlab