Thursday, January 6, 2011

Electronic Beer Menus Anyone?

There's a new trend emerging among some upscale restaurants; wine lists and other menus are made available via interactive listings on Apple iPads®. From Restaurants uploading menus on iPads for diners:
The bar is buzzing on a busy night at Chicago Cut steakhouse as regulars Keith and Peg Bragg sit at a high table scanning the wine list.

Within seconds, they have all bottles under $40 at their fingertips using an iPad supplied by their server.

"You can very quickly look through to see the price per bottle," said Keith, a finance executive, as he scrolled through rows of selections. "You can read the wine tasting note, how long it has been aged."

Having dealt with many outdated beer menus at many pubs, I know the frustration of trying to order from out of date lists. I also understand the issues faced by proprietors trying to keep lists up to date. I wonder when some technology savvy bar owner will provide an electronic version of the traditional pub chalk board. Keep the beer list updated at a single source, put a few iPads out with spill-proof covers, and patrons can peruse current offerings at anytime. Take it a step further and add ordering capabilities and eliminate the wait for the busy barkeep to come by to take your order.

While I'm dreaming, let's have photos, brewery notes, consumer reviews...

Click to read the entire article on iPads in restaurants.

2 comments:

  1. I would be happy with Restaurants putting their beer list (even just a sample list) on their website. I like to know what the beer quality will be like before I get to the restaurant. I absolutely hate it when I get to a place that has a 15 page wine list, and the best I can get in the form of beer is Sierra Nevada (Yes, I like SNPA, but I like selection). At least if I knew that going to the restaurant, I wouldnt be too disappointed.

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  2. My boyfriend did just that. Here it is!

    http://blog.oregonlive.com/thebeerhere/2011/08/baileys_new_electronic_beer_me.html

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