Originally Posted by RadioGirl

I saw (and used) that in the mid/late 90s and I think a lot of places still have it. My recent trips (since 2010) it was more common to get menus with a photo of every dish. (I guess color printing has gotten a lot cheaper...) We could just point to the picture and nod and smile, which was a relief to both us and to non-English-speaking waiters. Note - when you do this, don't say much more than "this" or "please"; one of my colleagues said "I don't know what this is but I'll try anything" and the waitress must have thought it was a special request or something, because she ran off in a panic to get someone who could translate.