You realize that in most of the U.S. you pay sales taxes on restaurant food and tip the waiter, right?
In some states groceries are exempt from sales tax, but restaurant food is not exempted by any state (except in the trivial sense in states that don't have a sales tax at all).
With very little, very clearly defined exceptions, every time money exchanges hands to pay for a service or a good, tax is applied. We also tip. The country has a set of two minimum wages. One for jobs that do not make tips, and another one, slightly lower, for those expected to make tips.
Federal tax is 5% and provincial tax ranges from 0 to 10%, meaning you pay 5-15% depending on your location for each good or service rendered. Essential goods/services (defined by each province and the federal gov.) are not subject to the specific tax (e.g. in Quebec, books are considered essential goods by the province, but not by the federal, so you pay only 5% tax)
No (some things are exempt), yes (food at a restaurant is both a good and a service), and yes (the HST goes to the restaurant, the tip goes to the waiter).
