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."
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.
Video 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.
Maps À la carte
Other uses
More broadly, the term is not exclusive to food. Today, it can be used in reference to things such as television. To watch television à la carte refers to paying for a provider where the viewer can choose from an option of programs to watch (e.g., Netflix or Hulu), instead of watching from set programs.
See also
- Omakase
- Table d'hôte, the opposite of à la carte
- Buffet
- List of French words and phrases used by English speakers
- Pro rata, a method of billing or other calculation based on proportional usage
- Business and economics portal
- Food portal
References
Further reading
- Baraban, R.S.; Durocher, J.F. (2010). Successful Restaurant Design. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 17-18. ISBN 978-0-470-25075-4.
- 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
- À la carte pricing strategy
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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