I remember about a year ago reading a story about a cafe in Tel Aviv where you went in and ordered stuff on the menu but all you would get was an empty plate!
Apparently this was some sort of new chic type thing among the so called "Beautiful People"
Don't know if the place is still in business though!

> My brother James told me an interesting
> story, about an interesting cafe he was
> in....

> A few days ago, my brother and his
> girlfriend went to a cafe to have a piece of
> cake. They ordered and ate a slice of tasty
> orange and poppyseed cake....

> When it came time to pay, they went to the
> cash register. They were ready to ask how
> much to pay, when the girl behind the cash
> register asked first, "How much?"

> James and Julie were a bit surprised (they
> were about to ask that question).... So they
> said, "We had a slice of orange and
> poppyseed cake."

> Then the girl behind the cash register
> explained. "Here, you set your own
> price. You pay what you feel you want to
> pay. So how much do you want to pay?"

> This surprised them even more! Eventually,
> they paid what they estimated it would cost
> in other cafes....

> I thought this was a very interesting
> experimental cafe! Pay what you feel!

> Personally, maybe I'm a bit skeptical, I
> think it will be hard for the cafe to
> survive this way (it's too easy for others
> to exploit), and they may have to change to
> a more conventional system.... BUT, it seems
> like an interesting experiment! James told
> me where this cafe was, and I'm going to
> check it out some time in the next few days
> myself....

> In case you're wondering, it had a
> "hippy"-type clientele....

> I just thought I'd share with you this
> interesting business model!

> (If you're in Melbourne, Australia, email me
> and I'll tell you where this cafe is, in
> case you want to check it out yourself....
> It's in St. Kilda, an area with a lot of
> unusual stores....)

> I found this very interesting. If you keep
> your eyes open, there are all sorts of very
> interesting business "experiments"
> happening all around you on a small
> scale.... Business doesn't HAVE to be
> "conventional", and it's good to
> keep your eyes open and learn from
> others.... :)

> - Dien Rice