My desire to interact with a waiter varies depending on the nature of the restaurant. Clearly this system isn't going to be installed at a 4 star restaurant any

My desire to interact with a waiter varies depending on the nature of the restaurant. Clearly this system isn't going to be installed at a 4 star restaurant any time soon, but if I go to a restaurant just to eat it would be useful. It would also be useful in a crowded pub where the service is generally slow and terrible and the social aspect is more about hanging out with your buddies than being waited on with a date/wife/kids. People could enter their food and drink orders and they would at least know they are in process. In San Francisco there is a sandwich shop called Specialty's that has installed iPad kiosks patrons can order from, which allows them to handle the lunch time rush with essentially no line and two cashiers. You are also assured that your order is correct because you can see all the ingredients on the sandwiches and make additions and subtractions. It's really quite great, although I have thought it is the sort of thing that is much more likely to be successful in a technology hub than in most cities.