Techie Restaurants: Panera Ordering

I was in Panera today with my girlfriend and her brother.  She did the coolest thing. While we were sitting there and talking, she ordered her food on their website and the waiter brought it to the table. He brought the receipt and the meal along with a half smile (I don't think he likes his job very much). 

I have ordered tons of food online. Some orders I have picked up at the register. Some orders were delivered to my home. But I have never ordered from my phone or computer at the table and then had it delivered to me. It's probably not very novel and can happen at many restaurants, but it was actually a pretty cool, frictionless experience.  

Then I started thinking about why iBeacon has the potential to be super help and cool along with how phones will allow for personalized orders for anything while you are in a store or restaurant. Imagine walking into a Starbucks and your phone places your custom order for you. Then the barista brings it to your table. The not so distant future is already occurring in small waves.