Found Menus

~a site dedicated to lists and options~

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Kharian Deli,  New York

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Furama, Chicago Illinois USA Dim sum in colors everywhere

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Garifuna Flava Chicago, IL

A blend of Garifuna (ga-RI-foo-nah) and Belizean cuisine, Garifuna Flava includes a little background on the Garifuna culture and history in their dessert menu. These descendants of Indian Caribs and Black Africans from the British Colonial Caribbean island of Saint Vincent have in recent decades relocated to coastal Central America and major US cities bringing their remarkable cuisine with them. According to the dessert menu, Garifuna was deemed by UNESCO in 2001 to be a "Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" and these dishes are at times a testament to that declaration.

What stands out on Garifuna Flava's menu is the heavy presence of stews with a truly global mix of ingredients, including coconut milk, paprika, oregano, and recado rojo. Usually these are made with red snapper or king fish and sometimes served with fried green plantains in a dish called "Hudut," which is delicious in my home cooking experience. Conch also appears as fun-sounding fried fritters and in a "Gumbo-like" soup. 

The bonus section of this menu - apart from the neon yellow of the images - are the beverages, which feature a great selection of Caribbean sodas and juices with Belizean inspired cocktails. Kola Champagne, Ting, Ambergris Breeze, and Placencia Paradise...Yes, please!

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The Art of the Menu - podcast

Ben Schott examines the graphic and gastronomic tricks of the menu.

Here's a great piece on the art of menus and what goes into making them.  The piece all takes place in New York and is a great slice into the design and considerations of describing food on paper.  I love that there are individuals and groups taking notice of the prevalence and history of menus and putting these pieces out there.  

Of course, menus do exist outside of New York, the USA and North America.  This menu below could be from any city in america but its actually from a place called Shorty's Diner in the Falkland Islands.  It's surprisingly remote and extremely familiar at the same time.  

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I started looking at smaller cities for signs that New American food had really splashed every inch of metropolitan space.  A virus really did take over the young minds of the US and it shows in what people are eating.  People aren't interested in spaghetti and meatballs as "great" food anymore, some might fight you over that idea.  Whether it's charcuterie, pickles, ferments, fatty proteins, smoked meats or a lesser-known regional dish:  unsubtle food - that is what is on the edge of peoples tongues.  Odd Duck in Milwaukee has a truly wild menu That includes almost every cuisine I can think of minus Italian.  Ya... go hit the bricks Italian food!

Odd Duck 

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Theres a huge amount of establishments I am floundering to find a menu for -  this is one of them - I will post an empty placeholder under the hashtag #findthismenu if you want to produce a menu for me.  I will give you an email 

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Uncle Joe's -  Ina, IL  - I want this chain to have a branch in LA -  I feel like people would line up for it. Also am I crazy or is someone punning a bunch of low rent sex jokes on this menu with the "full rack", the " just the strips" or the "XXX Hot" sauce.

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The Food Options in Christopher, IL

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Can't Find Menus!

Damn!  theres so many places that I just can't find a menu for in southern Illinois.  Please send a pic my way or message me to figure out how to mail me some.

Up and down the 57 between Cairo and West Frankfurt:

Triple E Barbque Lunch Box Afton Diner Chris Cafe Nu Diner Andresen's Michael's Family Ristorante Casa Vieja Mexican Restaurant

So many more -  a breadcrumb of proof to that america is not as internet friendly as the rest of the world may think.  Im batting about a hundred right now and I want that to be closer to .750.  

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Walt's Restaurant, Marion IL

This is the first visual cocktail menu I have seen.  Colorful.  Kinda takes up a ton of space, also don't be a dick and price your drinks ending with 9 cents.  Is there any possible reason to charge 5.29 for a skinny cosmo?  It is not tooth paste, charge 5.50 or 6 bucks and call it a day.  I feel nickel and dimed looking at it and oddly would pay more to not experience that.

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Pops Chuck Wagon, Marion IL,

This town has every fast food option, at the moment i'm looking for local and lovely joints.  If I get really desperate I might have to just mark up a Quiznos.

Some very satisfying looking options on this online menu.  Fried Bologna, Pork Fritters and all the standards.  

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Shemwells BBQ, Cairo IL,

The only menu i could find in this town,  I think its only part of the full spread too.  

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Imaginary Road Food Trip:  Cairo to Chicago!  I am going to be tracing the 57 north and finding places to eat all the way up.  Look forward to some great midwestern menus.

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Yakor Restaurant, Moscow Russia,

Yakor is located in the north west area of Moscow in what I am tossing a guess at to be the Tverskoy district.  Not too sure for I am not familiar with Moscow, and contrary to that point, I am wholly familiar with every single disney character on this kids menu.  This restaurant is part of a corporate restaurant group so they might indeed have every right to use the brands and characters here, my guess is that its blatant infringement.  

Spending some time with this one my eyes go straight to the dish called Tweety!  All it is chicken with carrots and broccoli, healthy for sure.  Have I just ordered THE Tweety Bird though?  Am I to enjoy eating my favorite sunday morning cartoon?  Is this some sort of circle of life lesson that Disney left out of the Lion King?  I think so: "Simba's trophy" or Simbas recent kill is a modest portion of beef.  Hey kids, eat what you love before they eat you.  Following this theme and the geography I feel Baloo should be on the menu as well.

By the way simba's real trophy is Nala?

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Call To Eat,  Panama  www.calltoeat.com

These guys snagged that url way way back and are sitting on a goldmine or virtual real estate.  There are a lot of exploding circles on this menu, almost in the realm of product design or labels.  It's a very shiny menu.  In this case it doesn't really take away from what looks like solid BBQ.

 Though if you stare at it long enough you realize there a giant out of focus roasted bird in the background.  Unrecognizable and strange its just sorta a big color field with a chilli flake here and some schmaltz there.  Shallow depth of field was the norm in food photography for the past ten years or so.  I think the trend is moving away from that now though.

Things to think about - picture menus are sometimes trickier than text menus.  They also might make your place look a bit like a dmv or service bureau.  "point at the sign and say why you are here".

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Silva's - Weed, CA  I always wonder what goes on above sacramento in California,  I never here anyone talk about up there.  Now I know that there is a BBQ place in Weed.  Please message me if you have a photo of the menu and I will update this post.

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Licks Beach Cafe - San Pedro, Belize.  I want to live this way or a year or so after I pull off that one big score.