À la carte on:
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''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language''
4th edition, Houghton Mifflin
''Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools''
National Academies Press. page 83. * Mosimann, Anton (1983)
''Cuisine à la carte''
Macmillan Publishers Limited. 304 pages.
In 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 appearan ...
, ''à la carte'' (; ) is the practice of ordering individual dishes from a 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 seque ...
in a restaurant, as opposed to ''table d'hôte
In restaurant terminology, a ''table d'hôte'' (; ) menu is a menu where multi-course meals with only a few choices are charged at a fixed total price. Such a menu may be called ''prix fixe'' ("fixed price"; ). The terms set meal and set menu ...
'', where a set menu is offered. It is an early 19th century loan
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...
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 wordmenu
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 seque ...
, which came into English in the 1830s."Menu"''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language''
4th edition, Houghton Mifflin
See also
*Omakase
is a Japanese phrase, used when ordering food in restaurants, that means 'I'll leave it up to you' (from Japanese ).
Usage
The phrase ''omakase'', literally 'I leave it up to you', is most commonly used when dining at Japanese restaurants ...
, Japanese expression for letting the chef decide
* ''Table d'hôte
In restaurant terminology, a ''table d'hôte'' (; ) menu is a menu where multi-course meals with only a few choices are charged at a fixed total price. Such a menu may be called ''prix fixe'' ("fixed price"; ). The terms set meal and set menu ...
'', the opposite of ''à la carte''
* Buffet
A buffet can be either a sideboard (a flat-topped piece of furniture with cupboards and drawers, used for storing crockery, glasses, and table linen) or a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve ...
* List of French words and phrases used by English speakers
* Pro rata
''Pro rata'' is an adverb or adjective meaning in equal portions or in proportion. The term is used in many legal and economic contexts. The hyphenated spelling ''pro-rata'' for the adjective form is common, as recommended for adjectives by some E ...
, a method of billing or other calculation based on proportional usage
*
*
References
Bibliography
* * Committee on Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine (2007)''Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools''
National Academies Press. page 83. * Mosimann, Anton (1983)
''Cuisine à la carte''
Macmillan Publishers Limited. 304 pages.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:A la carte Restaurant menus