Then I found this...

Vegetarian Restaurant Is Different
By WILLIAM HELTON Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)

"Refrain From Talking," proclaims a bold, black-and-white sign as a visitor walks into the Communion restaurant. Step up to the counter and the menu offers another warn ing: "For the price of a standard meal, you may eat as much as necessary for you. However, no food must be wasted." San Francisco, known for its unique restaurants, has spawned another. The mysterious proprietors of Communion, a subdued vegetarian restaurant, want people to get back to basics, including proper eating habits. "I have seen people starve to death, and I will not permit people to waste food," says a wisp of a 40-year-old man who apparently is in charge, though he refuses to reveal anything of himself, including his name. He says he is from India. "People here eat so sloppily they don't even realize when they are hungry," he says. Eating is a basic biological function, and conversation, reading newspapers and other distractions must not interfere, he contends. Sit at a table and a bearded young man wearing a long; purple apron, faded denim trousers and a white turban comes over and places the basic meal in front of you: bean soup, a bowl of yogurt, steamed rice, chutney, a vegetable and bhak- hari bread -- all for $1. Spring water is available but you must take only what you can drink. Diners sit in golden silence, concentrating on their eating. A truck roars by on busy Folsom Street outside. A spoon clangs against dish as a patron chases the last grain of rice. A mother scurries into the bathroom with t her crying infant. After eating, patrons neatly stack the completely empty dishes and carry them into the kitchen. They drop $1 into a box-and walk silently out, the basic task-of feeding themselves over. The restaurant is run by a group of seven people who call themselves only that -- the group. They say 110 to 150 persons dine at each meal. About 70 per cent of the patrons are steady customers. They are served only the specific portions that meet their biological needs. "We waste less than a family of five," says the leader, who offers this advice: "While eating, do not rush. Do not put everything together to make a thick sandwich, thicker than the width of your wide-open mouth. Do not take big bites that fill up your whole mouth. "When we are busy talking, watching television, reading or scheming for a new game of gain while eating, the food is not properly chewed and the digestive juices are not added before it reaches the stomach."