Can Bitcoin be practically used in just a few minutes?

[dannyvegasucks]

I know Bitcoin confirmation time is long, but I am still very unclear on just how this works.  For instance, it seems to me that Bitcoin would be unusable at a restaurant because the transaction would have to be confirmed in 10 minutes or so.  Likewise for something like using a vending machine etc?  Is it easy to build a sort of supervening layer (or has it already been built) that would allow someone to use their BTC immediately, without having to wait for confirmations?

Thanks much for any help.  I am writing a cryptocurrency article and this is the one con I have listed for BTC.

[WayTooGosu]

Confirmation times are often inconsistent, I've had confirmations on my transactions take place ranging from 1 minute to 4 hours after my transaction was made. Unless they come up with a better system for it, then I really doubt it will be used in restaurants or vending machines.

[MAbtc]

Fine for a restaurant bill. Why do they need to wait for confirmations? They don't...

[dannyvegasucks]

Fine for a restaurant bill. Why do they need to wait for confirmations? They don't...

To prevent double-spending would be my answer. Is that wrong?