WHY was approached by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles to design an exhibition space for the Foundation’s unparalleled archive of historical LA menus. Working closely with curator Josh Kun, we asked – what is an appropriate context to view a menu as a cultural artifact, or even a work of art? Simply installing an exhibit on a wall behind glass seemed like a departure from the menu’s “natural habitat”, so we designed a series of dining table display cases: a banquet table, a lazy-susan, a diner booth… By reimaging exhibition viewing in terms of convivial side-by-side dining, we created a wholly different environment for experiencing the collection; a space for chance encounters with others, and collaboratively questioning the politics, economics, and sociology of dining out.