[LONGHAIR]

A few years ago (3-4), my daughter and I went out to dinner, to a well-known old-school Italian place. As we were being seated, the electricity went off. Un-known to us at the time, someone crashed a car into a pole, shutting don't several blocks for hours. The emergency (battery) lights came on, so it was very similar to the regular lighting anyway. The server came to us with a candle and said we were welcome to stay if we wanted too. They cook with gas and it didn't shut the kitchen down either. We said sure, and ordered our food. After a little while, it came to me that I didn't have any cash on me. I asked the server about it and she said "Don't worry about it honey, we have one of those roller things under the counter at the bar." So we went on with our meal and she brought it to the table at the end, along with the carbon paper receipt thing. I gave her my card, she rolled it through, and my daughter just sat there looking stunned. She had never seen such a thing and if I remember right, she was 22 at the time. I'm sure she could have made change without the register too, but what could they have done in most places?
Sure, in Walmart or a grocery store, you could just leave, but in a restaurant, you have eaten/ taken your side of the deal. How would they deal with this?
You "can't" pay, but it's not anybody's fault, yours or theirs?