Mycheck app
Mark Anderson

UPDATE: I went to test the savviness of MyCheck at Rio Grill on a quiet Monday evening. 

First we had to take advantage of the epicurean opportunity. In other words, time to eat!

My companion and I enjoyed a light meal from the bites menu: house-smoked barbecue pork ribs ($7), empanadas with smoked tri tip, hatch green chili and avocado crema ($9), and mixed greens with pecorino cheese, seasoned walnuts and a curry vinaigrette ($8.75).   

The flavor of the ribs was aided by an immensely satisfying sauce, which I, having spent several years in the self-proclaimed 'cue capital of the country (Texas), feel comfortable judging. 
 
The empanadas were also tasty, although I don’t think I was able to entirely appreciate the tri tip under the layer of avocado crema.
 
The greens were great, light but vibrant.
 
Meal finished, I went to pay with the app. (See below for more.) 
 
It's easy enough to enter credit card info (it takes a picture for you) or use PayPal, though I would recommend doing this prior to your restaurant experience, so you avoid attempting to take a decent picture of your card under atmospheric lighting. 
 
Then you are issued a four digit code and instructed to show it to your server, which we did. 
 
He went to the register, returning a few times over the next 15 minutes, apologizing for the delay and double checking that he had the code correct. 
 
After finally taking my phone with him to try to figure it out, he came back and said that dinner was on the house, sorry for the delay.
 
They couldn't get the app to sync with the computer. I was the first customer who had asked to use it. 
 
Like all smartphone inventions, MyCheck is still subject to the perils of technology (I also received a couple "cannot connect to server" messages and had to close and reopen app), but provided the mysterious virtual world is firing on all cylinders, it seems like a convenient way to clean-up the payment experience. 
 
••• 

Smartphones have already changed the restaurant experience.

Sometimes it's people producing them to constantly document dinner for jealous and/or weary Instagram followers.

Other times it's bitter eaters logging bombastic Yelp reviews.

Still other moments it's to distract from being present.

Now Tarpy's Roadhouse (647-1444), Montrio Bistro (648-8880) and Rio Grill (625-5436), siblings in the Downtown Dining family that has long been a food-and-drink pioneer in Monterey County, are adopting a new smartphone app that makes their presence a little more pleasant and practical.

MyCheck lets customers use smartphones to pay restaurant bills. 

Originating in Tel Aviv, MyCheck has since spread throughout Israel and is now making headway in the U.S. 

The steps to payment are simple—select restaurant, check-in with a restaurant code and use PayPal or a credit card to complete the transaction. 

MyCheck also allows bill-splitting, convenient for dining with friends.  

A quick survey of the app shows it's easy to navigate, but the true test will be using it for a quick getaway during restaurant rush hour. 

Mark C. Anderson contributed to this report. 

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