[ty6853]

Cash is vastly vastly preferred for restaurants in the USA by both sides.

This is also has the advantage that if for whatever reason it is impossible to pay because all the servers have disappeared and no is up front, you can just calculate out the bill+tax+tip from the prices in the menu, lay it on the table, and leave.

Most the problems around credit/phones revolve around the fact that restaurants are operating around customs and inertia of the cash system, and awkwardly injecting other collection methods into this routine, personally I don't bother fighting it.

[baseballdork]

> Cash is vastly vastly preferred for restaurants in the USA by both sides.

What two sides are you referencing? I can't fathom that customers is one of those sides. Cash is just about my least preferred method, maybe second only to writing a check.

[JohnFen]

Cash is my favorite way to pay. I'm with you about checks, though. I haven't even had a checkbook for 20 years or so.

[baseballdork]

Sure, I believe there are lots of folks who prefer cash. I just don't think "vastly preferred" is accurate. [1] suggests that only 20% of all transactions are using cash...

1 - https://www.clearlypayments.com/blog/statistics-for-cash-and...

[cafard]

For the wait staff, cash has the great advantage that it is up to the staff to report tips to the IRS. For everyone else?

I do carry cash, and probably use cash more than someone younger would, but for restaurant bills beyond the burger and brew range I tend to use a credit card. Once one gets into the white-tablecloth world, bills are beyond the amount of cash I usually carry.