à La Carte

picture info	à La Carte In restaurants, ''à la carte'' (; )) is the practice of ordering individual dishes from a menu in a restaurant, as opposed to '' table d'hôte'', where a set menu is offered. It is an early 19th century loan from French meaning "according to the menu".''Oxford English Dictionary'' The individual dishes to be ordered may include side dishes, or the side dishes may be offered separately, in which case, they are also considered ''à la carte''. History The earliest examples of ''à la carte'' are from 1816 for the adjectival use ("à la carte meal", for example) and from 1821 for the adverbial use ("meals were served à la carte"). These pre-date the use of the word menu, which came into English in the 1830s."Menu"''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' 4th edition, Houghton Mifflin See also * Omakase, Japanese expression for letting the chef decide * '' Table d'hôte'', the opposite of ''à la carte'' * Buffet * List of French words and phrases use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Steak à La Carte A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into patties, such as hamburgers. Steaks are cut from animals including cattle, bison, camel, goat, horse, kangaroo, sheep, ostrich, pigs, reindeer, turkey, deer, and zebu, as well as various types of fish, especially salmon and large fish such as swordfish, shark, and marlin. For some meats, such as pork, lamb and mutton, chevon, and veal, these cuts are often referred to as chops. Some cured meat, such as gammon, is commonly served as steak. Grilled portobello mushroom may be called mushroom steak, and similarly for other vegetarian dishes. Imitation steak is a food product that is formed into a steak shape from various pieces of meat. Grilled fruits such as watermelon have been used as vegetarian steak alternatives. Exceptions, in which the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Restaurants A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance and offerings, including a wide variety of cuisines and service models ranging from inexpensive fast-food restaurants and cafeterias to mid-priced family restaurants, to high-priced luxury establishments. Etymology The word derives from early 19th century from French word 'provide food for', literally 'restore to a former state' and, being the present participle of the verb, The term ''restaurant'' may have been used in 1507 as a "restorative beverage", and in correspondence in 1521 to mean 'that which restores the strength, a fortifying food or remedy'. History A public eating establishment similar to a restaurant is mentioned in a 512 BC record from Ancient Egypt. It served only one dish, a plate of cereal, wild fowl, and onions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Menu In a restaurant, the menu is a list of food and beverages offered to customers and the prices. A menu may be à la carte – which presents a list of options from which customers choose – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is offered. Menus may be printed on paper sheets provided to the diners, put on a large poster or display board inside the establishment, displayed outside the restaurant, or put on a digital screen. Since the late 1990s, some restaurants have put their menus online. Menus are also often a feature of very formal meals other than in restaurants, for example at weddings. In the 19th and 20th centuries printed menus were often used for society dinner-parties in homes; indeed this was their original use in Europe. History Menus, as lists of prepared foods, have been discovered dating back to the Song dynasty in China. In the larger cities of the time, merchants found a way to cater to busy customers who had little time or en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]