I always wanted to open up a restaurant that appeared, to the patrons, to be fully automated. Lights on the floor would indicate what table to sit at, ordering would be done via touch screen, delivery of food would be done via conveyor belt. No waiting for the check, no waiting for refills, no tips necessary at all.

It appears that someone is doing something similar at uWink in California. There is a multi–part review that’s pretty interesting (summary: it’s not ready for prime time yet). They’ve chosen a video game theme and targeted gamers, which makes a lot of sense. I had always struggled with what type of restaurant it would be – a pizza place? burger joint? It couldn’t be a bar, because bars should be more social and human. uWink hasn’t gone as far as I was envisioning… they appear to have a fully human-staffed bar and I think you’re still seated by a human. They call their waitstaff “runners” because all they do is bring you the food you’ve ordered via the touchscreen at your table – they don’t actually wait on you. Kind of interesting… definitely nerdy.