In
restaurants
A restaurant is an establishment 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 app ...
, ''Ã 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 the customer. A menu may be à la carte – which presents a list of options from which customers choose, often with prices shown – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-est ...
in a
restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment 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 Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...
, as opposed to ''
table d'hôte
In restaurant terminology, a ''table d'hôte'' (; ) menu is a menu where multi-Course (meal), 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 ...
'', where a set menu is offered. It is an early 19th century
loan
In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.
The document evidencing the deb ...
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 ''Ã 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
In a restaurant, the menu is a list of food and beverages offered to the customer. A menu may be à la carte – which presents a list of options from which customers choose, often with prices shown – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-est ...
, which came into English in the 1830s.[
]
See also
* Omakase, Japanese expression for letting the chef decide
* ''Table d'hôte
In restaurant terminology, a ''table d'hôte'' (; ) menu is a menu where multi-Course (meal), 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 ...
'', the opposite of ''Ã la carte''
* Buffet
A buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve themselves. A form of '' service à la française'', buffets are offered at various places including hotels, restaurants, and many social eve ...
* List of French words and phrases used by English speakers
Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern En ...
* 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 ...
, 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