Reasons to Love New York 2014 - Free Lunch -- New York Magazine

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24. Because There Is Such a Thing As a Free Lunch


Graphic designer Lauren Hom noticed that many restaurants were overlooking a critical detail: the handwriting on their chalkboard signs. �It’s common for a restaurant to have a menu board that’s written by, like, a hung-over hostess,� she says. �And it’s totally not a dis on anyone’s handwriting, but I thought I could make it look kick-ass.� So the 24-year-old freelance illustrator came up with a simple arrangement: She will stop by your restaurant to hand-letter a pretty sign�in exchange for the foods that she writes on the board. (Sometimes she goes back multiple times to finish all the food.) Hom started the project, called �Will Letter for Lunch,� in September�passing out fliers to local restaurants near her home in Crown Heights. She has since lettered signs for 13 restaurants�including the Lion, Nourish Kitchen + Table, and Mimi Cheng’s�and took her show on the road when she recently went backpacking through Europe. Hom has no plans to charge for her services: �The truth is, free food tastes better.�