Restaurant Serves Phone Chargers So Customers Can Instagram

In the wake of certain restaurants complaining about diners being distracted by cell phone usage, other eateries are embracing the technology. In a recent restaurant review in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Craig LaBan wrote that in between courses at Jose Garces' Volvér restaurant, he was served a phone charger on a silver platter. The waitress explained, "Is your battery running low? A lot of people like to Instagram while they're here, and we wouldn't want you to run out of power."

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It sounds like a bad joke, but it actually happened. LaBan and others speculate that it might be due to the fact that restaurant's high price tag encourages diners to show off their fancy dinners through social media. Plus, it give the restaurant a higher public and digital profile.

But for all of the restaurant's hubbub via social media or otherwise (Volvér doles out reservations via a ticketing system ala Achatz's Alinea), LaBan seemed to think that the restaurant was over-the-top and screamed "me, me me!" We have reached out to Jose Garces but have not yet received a response about his electronics policies.

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Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter@JoannaFantozzi