How about a mid-range restaurant that has a digital menu? You flip through 'web pages' at a terminal at your table (and get as much detail as you want...calories, recommended accompanyments, wine pairings, customer ratings, etc) and order what you want when you are ready. Paper money or credit cards can be inserted like any standard vending machine. Eliminates waitstaff expense and training...and snobbyness. One would likely need a floating consultant/manager, a food expeditor and a "help" button. But, this would probably have to be an urban setting, where folks would have enough tech proficiency not to be intimidated by this type of system.

The automatic and instantaneous back-end analysis would be a great benefit to restaurant owners. There could even be log-ins - so customers could have accounts billed or credited, and a "points" system like the airlines for frequent patronage. And customers would have no one to blame for service but themselves...provided the food quality is up to par.

This idea was originally posted by Greinke3 on the forbes.com Why Not? forum.

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