Scan · open
- River City Tacos · verified
- 3 items sold out
- Menu valid tonight only
- Allergen key on scan
Design space · food service
Live menus
Not “a QR menu.” A printed menu object that can show sold-out items, expire after service, revoke a fake copy, and prove it is the real current menu for this truck or pop-up tonight.
Research, not shipping yet.
Beyond a PDF link
- Tonight only Valid for this service · location B after move · closed after 11 PM
- Sold out · 86’d Items update on scan without reprinting table tents
Example · food truck window
Moved
- Now at 4th & Elm lot
- Same printed QR on truck
Fake menu
- Not the official menu object
- Do not order from this copy
What the menu object can show
- open / closed
- sold out items
- prices tonight
- allergen notes
- verified vendor
- expires after service
- revoked copy
Pairs well with local economies and food freshness tags.
Menus + markets + surplus
A live menu becomes more useful when it can hand off to freshness tags and market passes instead of becoming one overloaded page.
Service now
- Truck menu shows open, moved, or sold out
- Market pass confirms the vendor is active today
- Allergen notes stay visible at scan time
After service
- Unsold stew becomes a freshness-tagged donation
- Safe-to-take until 8 PM, then expires
- Local resource card can point people to it
Pair with local economies, food freshness tags, and crisis resource cards.
The menu on the table is a live object, not a dead PDF. That is the magic.