Check out that article linked in orange then come back.
Okay, so, I can understand how people standing on chairs and bringing in tripods to take a picture of an f-ing t-bone steak can be a little annoying to restaurateurs. I mean, honestly, if you're having to stand on a chair to take a picture of your prime rib or something then chances are you're a crappy food photographer. Look, everyone knows I take pictures of my food. They expect me to take pictures of my food. But if I'm standing on a chair to photograph my roasted cow liver then I'm just coming off as a newb as is anyone who actually does this. Same with a tripod. If you need a tripod cause you're greasy hands can't hold a camera straight then you may want to consider another profession.
And you know what? I'd say at least 95% of food photographers mind their own business and aren't the disruptive assturds that the dude in the article is describing. I for one have never seen anybody get on their chair to photograph their meal, nor have I seen the jerk with the tripod. Even flash photography is a rarity because most food photographers are total newbs who don't understand the concept of lighting, but I digress.
But saying things like "some people are arrogant about it" is a pretty arrogant thing to say, or that food photography "totally disrupts the ambiance." I mean, come on. Maybe the ambiance of your restaurant wasn't that good to begin with if my stupid I-Phone is really catching everyone off guard. To this guy's credit, he encourages food photographers to go into the kitchen to photograph their plates against a beautiful marble counter top, which is I think a fantastic idea and good for business. At the same time, anyone who's prohibiting food photography needs to wake up and realize that William Howard Taft isn't president anymore and times are changing. I'm just sayin'.
So here's the famous Bacon Slamburger from Denny's, a restaurant that would never prohibit food photography because they're too big of a chain to even do anything about it:
Breakfast and a burger - the perfect combination
I got this burger once before and did not enjoy it largely because Denny overcooked the frickin' egg. But this here...this was perfect. One bite and the yolk from the over-easy egg drenched everything in wet goodness. The taste of the beef, bacon, hash browns, egg, and cheese sauce was just...amazing.