Crazy, I know, but even half of them would make an enormous stack, physically conveying the impact of Chinese restaurants as a collective phenomenon in this country. And while I’m accumulating them, I can use them for other things, like my statistical analysis of crab rangoon prices.

Wherever you go, any Chinese restaurant you see, please pick up a menu for me. Mail them to:

Indigo Som
P. O. Box 5053
Berkeley CA 94705

The only limitation: I live in Berkeley and will go get local menus myself. The rest of the country is fair game! And if you're somewhere in Kenya or Peru and they have takeout menus, I'll be happy about those too. But leave those Hong Kong restaurants alone!

MENU FAQs

Are you still collecting menus? If you're reading this, then I am still collecting menus! Please send them! It's going to take a long, long time to get even close to having most of them.

How many menus do you have now? I don't know, because I don't keep a running tally. As of summer 2009, they add up to something more than 1000. (Is that vague enough?) I have a looong way to go....

How many people have sent menus? I'm not keeping count of that either. More than I can send thank you notes to, although the must voluminous contributors have gotten a little treat in the mail. But I appreciate every single menu!

Is it okay if the menu is stained/rolled/written on/folded/spindled/mutilated? Yes. I think the only reason I wouldn't want it is if it's really nasty &/or mostly illegible.

Do you still need menus from [your state]? Yes! I am very far from reaching saturation levels for any state. Like I said, it's gonna take a while. So please send them! As of summer 2009, I still don't have any menus at all from Kentucky, Delaware, Arkansas, Utah, West Virginia, Nebraska, both Dakotas.

How about menus from pan-Asian restaurants, or Chinese & Japanese restaurants, do you want those too? Yes! Chinese food & donuts, Chinese food & Hofbrau, they all count!

What about old or vintage menus? Yes, please, those are good too.

Basically, when in doubt: send me the menu! Thank you!