I think the easy play in that situation is to ask that someone else to show the menu to you

That situation sounds like fun! You let your friend(s) pick something for you. This frees you to do more spontaneous things and keep the social energy flowing. I've personally done this even when there was a printed menu and eating wasn't the point.

I think people need to really lighten up sometimes.

In that case, I could just read it off of their phone