la.foodblogging

The man behind Atari, Chuck E. Cheese and the video game Pong is opening a restaurant centered around video games in West Los Angeles this fall. Nolan K. Bushnell tells the New York Times he hopes his so-called Media Bistro is “the antidote to social isolation,” in a story by Matt Richtel.

The man some call “the father of the video arcade industry” is planning a 300-seat public dining area where customers order via touch-screen monitors, installed at every table, booth and barstool. The interactive screens will allow diners to place food orders, play some 70 different video and trivia games, and take instant pop culture polls. He plans to generate revenue by using the touch-screens to test commercials and conduct consumer surveys on behalf of corporations.

The restaurant will be divided into two sections, one with more casual gaming at the tables and another where games can be organized for large groups, as in bingo halls. Bushnell’s current company uWink has invested $12 million in developing the technology for Media Bistro.

For more info on Bushnell’s gaming restaurant targeted to 21 to 35-year-olds, see Richtel’s story.

No word yet on what kind of food will be served nor whether animatronic animals will be incorporated into the decor.

UPDATE: Robert MacMillan, The Washington Post’s Random Access columnist, weighs in on Bushnell’s plan, and that of other companies, to supplement (and in some cases subsidize) dining experiences with instant access to media.

UPDATE, UPDATE:Nation’s Restaurant News writer Lisa Jennings answers more questions about Media Bistro and reports that:

“Pizza, pastas, salads and burgers will be featured, along with Bushnell’s “Extreme Menu,” which allows guests to order “extreme amounts” of garlic, curry, onion, jalapeño or other flavors. The average ticket for food and drink is expected to run $12 to $13. Including media, the per-person tab would average $16 to $17.”

Image source: MassArt