That scene is amazing. It was done almost exactly as in the script. The only omission is immediately after Bobby says "What do you mean? You don't have any tomatoes?" Deleted: -No. We have tomatoes -But I can't have any. Is that what you mean? It was deleted because it was no longer necessary. Nicholson delivered the line incredulously ("what do you mean you don't have any tomatoes!") rather than innocently asking a question as the script might suggest. At the very beginning when he places his order the script says he is looking at his menu. He does, but only for a split second. He is looking at the waitress while delivering the line. It might seem insignificant, but it makes his character look more decisive and confident, like he knows exactly what he wants whether it is on the menu or not, and is practiced in asking for it wherever he goes. This is not the first time this character has asked for something very specific. The only other difference is at the end. Nicholson does not "smile at her politely" when he says "You see this sign?". Instead, he is frustrated and ready to leave. He puts on his sunglasses, says the line, and clears the table. The scene is so well written it's not at all surprising that hardly any changes were made to it.

Lise: Again a nice analysis on your part. And it is a really well-written scene, allowing the actors to act, the director to get basic four-shot coverage [wide shot of the booth with Bobby [Nicholson] in center, CU Bobby, CU Waitress, medium shot of the other two women at the table], then the editors to cut it together. No fuss, no muss. So why is this such an iconic scene? And what is really going on here that is so meaningful in terms of Bobby's psychological journey? One lesson from this scene: If you imbue a moment with strong psychological / emotional meaning, even simple, direct scenes can carry a lot of weight. So again: What is really going on in this scene? On the surface, Bobby gets pissed off at the waitress and angrily clears off the plates from the table. What does that mean?

Ah, for that we have to see the film. Fairly recently.

If you were just to look at the scene in isolation from the film you can go anywhere with it and imbue it with any psychological statements you want. You can say that it shows an anal character who always wants things to be precise and exact. You can say he is passive aggressive, being as polite as he can throughout the scene and finally losing it at the end. You could say he has a superiority complex and is out to belittle the waitress by making her look ridiculous because she is doing her job. You can say anything you want if you are creative with psychology. But at the end of the day, whatever you say has to be consistent with what he says and does in the rest of the film. For that reason I find it next to impossible to say anything meaningful about a scene taken out of context. Know what I mean?

I hear you, Lise. For some context, here is a plot summary for the movie from IMDB: "Classical pianist Robert Dupea, who comes from a family of musicians, works in a California oil field. Most of his time is spent in bowling alleys, drinking beer in the trailer of his friend Elton, or with his waitress girlfriend, Rayette. When he learns that she is pregnant, he quits his job and leaves for Los Angeles where his sister Partita, also a pianist, is making a recording. Partita informs him that their father has suffered two strokes and urges him to return to the family home on Puget Sound. He tells Rayette that he must go to see his father and reluctantly agrees to take her along. On the way, they pick up two lesbians whose constant chatter about ecology increasingy annoys Robert. The four of them are thrown out of a restaurant when he becomes involved in an argument with a waitress who cannot bring his special order. Eventually, Robert reaches his destination. Embarrassed by Rayette's lack of polish, he registers her in a motel and goes to his family home. At dinner that night, he meets Catherine Van Ost, a young pianist engaged to his brother Carl, a violinist. Despite personality differences, Robert and Catherine become attracted to each other and make love in her room. Meanwhile, Rayette becomes bored at the motel and comes to the Dupea estate unannounced. Her presence creates an awkward situation, but when Samia, a pompous family friend, ridicules Rayette's background, Robert is forced into a fiery defense of her. Storming from the room, he discovers his father's male nurse giving a massage to the half-naked Partita. Even more angered, Robert picks a senseless fight with him and is quickly knocked to the floor. After a frustrating attempt to talk with his father, Robert leaves with Rayette. Unable to function in the intellectual world of his family or in the working-class world of the oil fields, he stops at a gas station, abandons Rayette when she goes in for some coffee, and hitches a ride on a truck."

I hate to get all simple-minded on you but this scene is iconic for one obvious reason: most of the people in every audience who ever saw the film had an experience like this at some point in some greasy spoon restaurant somewhere ... or just had to deal with some by-the-book insufferable bureaucrat in some other context ... and Nicholson acts exactly the way we all wish we could have. Plus we get to live through his little rebellion vicariously without having to feel like a jerk afterward (as we would if we ever did anything comparable). We can even tut-tut his behavior while appreciating it and envying his guts and his style. Perfect entertainment. Speaking of context ...I'd be willing to bet that this is the only scene in the whole movie most people remember at all.

Never having seen the movie, but viewing the scene and reading the imdb synopsis I'll attempt to describe what this scene means... A part from relaying to the audience what kind of person Robert is when it comes to authority and not getting his way, this scene appears to be in the roads of trials, enemies and allies part of the hero's journey. In the overall context of the movie this scene's subtext is to show that Robert thinks he knows what he wants, or he's pretty certain about it and when his life doesn't pan out as he would like it, he throws a tantrum and basically escapes the situation. Where, from what I gather at the end, he ultimately does It is a piece of foreshadowing.