iMenus
by Scott Hardie on November 3, 2012
I think we just experienced the future of restaurants. I thought that once before, and it turned out to be true, but in that case the trend was years late coming to Sarasota after large cultural centers like New York and Los Angeles. We might be a few years behind on this new trend as well, but I still see it becoming commonplace.
The restaurant we tried a few nights ago was Carmel Cafe. The food was ok. The service was mixed. What set it apart was the ordering experience. Each table receives two iPads loaded with interactive menus, featuring full photos and descriptions of every dish and drink. When you want something, you select it on the iPad and the kitchen gets to work. You can order a batch of items at once, like desserts all around, or just one item if you like. A few minutes later, the food shows up at your table. You can view your ongoing check at any time, and pay the bill directly on the iPad when you're done. A waitress still stops by your table every few minutes in case you need anything.
Interacting with a glowing screen instead of a menu or a human server was not especially noteworthy, but the option to order your meal in parts, when you want each part, really made a difference. The occasion for our meal was both a birthday celebration and the last time we would share our engagement with someone new in person, so we really wanted extra time to converse at the table without interruption. The format gave us that. It also helped us take more control of our meal: When Kelly changed her mind on a drink, a new one showed up a few minutes later. When my entree proved unsatisfying, a side dish showed up a few minutes later. This was a great way to dine.
I can see this format working especially well in two kinds of restaurants: Hang-out joints like Denny's and Steak 'n Shake where large groups of young people gather for hours to chat and occasionally order something, and places where tiny portions are the norm like sushi bars and tapas bars where you might want to order a series of small dishes. Our local Denny's already has a doorbell-like button you can press at your table to summon a waiter any time (a feature conspicuously missing from Carmel's iPad), so they've already taken one step in this direction.
There are tangential benefits to the interactive menus, too: Run out of a particular item? Just take it off the menu, or post a "sold out" notice that prevents people from ordering it. Need to clear your supply of an overstocked item in a hurry before another shipment arrives? Just reduce the price and declare it a sale item, instantly. There's potential for prankster kids with programming skills to tamper with your menus, but you could always keep paper menus on hand as a backup.
Though the iPads would probably pay for themselves over the long run because of reduced labor costs, they would still represent a large up-front investment and make a restaurant even less likely to succeed. I wouldn't want to open a new restaurant with the iPad menus, but I sure do want to eat at more restaurants using them.
Logical Operator
The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »
I Am Not Larry David
Last night, Kelly and I joined some friends from work at Tropicana Field to watch the Rays lose to the Blue Jays, something we do from time to time. In the second inning, I caught a foul ball that came wildly bouncing around our section. Everybody in our group got a kick out of it, and I savored the feeling. Go »OK Glass
Last weekend, Kelly and I drove up to St. Petersburg with friends to see Ira Glass present a one-man stage show explaining how he makes This American Life on the radio. I had no prior familiarity with his work, having not heard the radio show unlike the fans that I went with, but I think it's long past time that I started listening to the celebrated series online. Go »Not in My Back Yard
I love Unsolved Mysteries. The show told such interesting stories in perfect bite-size pieces, and knew how to make the hair on your neck stand up. I wish they were more objective in their reporting and didn't rely on pseudoscience as evidence (using psychics to prove ghosts and polygraph results to condemn criminals), but damn they put on an entertaining show. Go »Illinois, October 2012
Our road trip to see friends and family in Illinois was well worth it. The drive both ways was pleasant. I indulged in junk food like a man taking a break from six months of dieting (since my post-Atkins diet started in June, I've lost 50 pounds). Go »Jacked
It's good to be back online. We lost our Internet connection at home on Tuesday, and it has only come back on for a few minutes sporadically ever since then, just enough time to send a quick email before it vanishes again. Making sure goos got published in time wasn't easy. Go »
