Warming refrigerated butter at a table in a restaurant I love to cook.  One of my favorite ways to cook is to go to a restaurant, look at the menu, get ideas, and order creatively.  It helps to tip well.

For example, I've been successful creating diet ginger ale by ordering it cut with club soda and adding sugar substitute to taste.  Also found breakfast burritos are very tasty if you substitute the tortilla with a crape.  These work because the directions and goal are simple and understandable.

My current obsession is room temperature butter for the hot rolls.  I want the butter to spread.  I don't want the butter cooling the rolls.  Can order the butter ahead of the rolls, if I must, but time is still at a premium.

If you're lucky you can order room temperature butter and get room temperature butter.  More often I'm told they have to refrigerate the butter.  I don't want to argue with them about the wisdom of their health codes.  Some have tried to microwave it only to present me with abstract art sitting in a pool of drawn butter.  This site could teach them how to microwave butter properly but I'm trying to communicate through a busy waiter.

Typically what I'm given is either small foil wrapped pats of butter or a 1 inch by 1 inch by 1/8 inch slice placed on a saucer.

What are your ideas for warming the butter before the rolls cool down?  I'm willing to do some work myself at the table.
Ask for a heated glass!
Glasses freshly out of cleaning should be warm anyway, so chances are they have one. Putting the heated glass over your (opened) piece of butter unter the turned-over glass should have the desired effect.