I had dinner at Wagamama last night, a trendy noodle & curry place in the Printworks, “the North Westís newest and most innovative entertainment venue.” I had the yasai katsu curry, fried vegetables with curry, rice, and a salad. Yummy.
Wagamama has a chic twenty-first century decor, with a high ceiling, lots of stainless steel, indirect lighting, and bench seating at long tables bolted to the floor. The mega-hip servers – one young gent had a mohawk Frank Gehry could have designed – take your order on wireless handhelds that presumably transmit your order back to the kitchen. This set-up must have costa pretty penny, so I wonder how it contributes to cost-saving. Maybe it’s just an investment in their post-modern image.
Whatever they’re doing, it’s working, because at 5:30 – early for a dinner crowd – they were doing a brisk business.
I love Wagamama, having frequented the one in London quite a lot in Fall ’95. It was only blocks away from where I lived and decently priced for good food. They used the handhelds then too, although I think instead of wireless they printed out tiny receipts, which they gave to the kitchen staff. Orders in alphanumeric code.
Their vegetable juice is wonderful.
The palm pilot seems to be taking off in restaurants- even a number of establishments in Melbourne have them now.
Alas, these were PocketPCs, and thus running Microsoft’s OS, rather than Palm’s.