Would you surrender your cell phone to save a few dollars on your restaurant bill?

Chef Mark Gold of Eva has instituted a new policy at his farm-to-table restaurant in LA hoping that 5% is an incentive worth going Instagram and email-free for. To ensure a text-less dining experience, patrons leave their mobile phone with the receptionist to receive the discount on their final check.

This is the carrot approach. There is also the stick (not ever implemented by anyone to our knowledge) — a 10% charge on your total bill for using your phone. Neither approach is exactly blogger-friendly.

Email and texts aside, according to a May 2011 study published in Mashable, 72% of people posting food photos on a social media website are doing so during dinner.

Should we be encouraging or discouraging phones as social tools at mealtime?