Igniting the trend are consumers like Friedman, who may seem like the finicky protagonist of Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham, but who is just your average multitasking, high-speed American.
Now each weekday morning he places an online order with Lenny's. Soon an iced coffee and an Atkin's Special (egg whites, turkey, onion, tomato, roasted red pepper) are made to his typed specifications and delivered to the reception desk.
"I'm saving time," said Friedman, who orders breakfast and lunch online. "I'm so adept at it now that I can actually do business on the phone while I'm placing my food order."
People like him see advantages to online and text ordering. It is faster; there is no being placed on hold or inadvertently hung up on; and you need not ask about the specials or explain that the jalapenos should be on the side. It is more accurate; you type in the order and delivery address yourself. There is no need for cash. Favorite orders and credit card information can be saved so reordering is a matter of a few mouse clicks. A delivery can be scheduled days in advance. And thanks to electronic menus, there is more drawer space in the kitchen.
About three months ago, an Outback Steakhouse on West 23rd Street in Manhattan began offering curbside take away, said Chris Eldridge, the proprietor. Customers place an order online and type in the make and color of their car. When they pull up to the restaurant, their food is carried out to them.
Industry executives have found that those inclined to use online or text ordering are less defined by race or age than by whether or not they have access to high-speed Internet connections. Online orders on corporate Web sites or sites like SeamlessWeb.com, an aggregate site for restaurant ordering, come from working parents in search of no-fuss family dinners, ravenous college students and professionals working overtime.
For that reason, perhaps no group understands the benefits of new ordering methods better than college students, who grew up zooming through cyberspace. In response to student demand for a way to text food orders to restaurants in between classes, Campusfood.com, an online network of restaurants available on more than 300 campuses, began offering text and SMS message ordering in April. The first big push for the service will be this fall.
"It's exactly like sending a regular text message like I do with my friends all the time," said Rebecca Minsky, 21, a junior at Cornell University who has been using Campusfood.com since her freshman year. When she leaves the gym she texts her order; by the time she arrives home, dinner is ready.
In fact, Minsky used Campusfood.com so often that she ended up interning for them this summer.
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