That guy is me! Literally! I’m now a character! If you see a guy with a striped blue shirt, that’s me. I may even pop up as a a friend of a dude who is doing silly things.
So for restaurants, this is how it seems to work.
Server shows up and asks about what you want to drink. They come back with drinks and ask what you want for dinner. If you haven’t decided on what you want by that point, then they may come back in 5-10 minutes and re-ask. They may even totally forget about you until you start waving your arms like you’re Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2 trying to help land a plane. It all depends.
In short: the first 15 minutes sitting at a table seems to be critical and you shouldn’t speak. You should be focusing on your menu so you don’t risk any delays. If you accidentally say a thing, stop saying a thing and refocus on the menu. After you order though, you’re free to talk if you want to.
Hmm, I just read everything I typed and I might be a crazy person =)