Long ago in a galaxy far far away one of the most vexing problems for restaurateurs was placing menu on paper. Everyone remembers the helpful people at the print shop, the continual rewrites, the spell checking, the formatting, the paper quality, the billions of trees that have been sacrificed and finally the absurd cost of the thing.
The world is changing quickly. First, elegant computer word processors made in house menu production realistic. Now the world is moving away from paper toward digital, be it ipad'sque displays or roll up nanotubes displays. Clearly the future involves a display at each table which will provide menu items, recommendations, wine pairings, advertise upcoming events and interact with the customer at a personal level. It will know that you like cranberry juice with water. The display will replace the server unless the server adds value. Because the multimedia interaction is ongoing, the perceived wait times will shrink further enhancing the dining experience. Heck it will even be possible to track your order as it is being processed.
