À la carte
{{short description|Ordering individual dishes from a menu}}
{{about||the custom car|Ala Kart (custom car)|other uses}}
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File:Steak à la carte.jpg or garnish; these must be requested separately.]]
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In restaurants, à la carte ({{IPAc-en|ɑː|l|ə|ˈ|k|ɑr|t}}; {{IPA|fr|a la kaʁt|lang}}; {{literally|at the card}}){{OED|A 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=a+la+carte&allowed_in_frame=0|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|work=etymonline.com|access-date=2 May 2016}} It is an early 19th century loan from French meaning "according to the menu".Oxford English Dictionary{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/a-la-carte?q=%C3%80+la+carte|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602112611/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/a-la-carte?q=%C3%80+la+carte|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 June 2016|title=à la carte – definition of à la carte in English from the Oxford dictionary|work=oxforddictionaries.com|access-date=2 May 2016}}
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.Richard Bailey, [http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2008/05/words.php Eating Words], Michigan Today, 13 May 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080525161359/http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2008/05/words.php |date=25 May 2008 }}{{Cite web |title=Dictionary.com {{!}} Meanings & Definitions of English Words |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/menu |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Dictionary.com |language=en}}
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 used by English speakers
- Pro rata, a method of billing or other calculation based on proportional usage
- {{portal-inline|Business and economics}}
- {{portal-inline|Food}}
References
{{Reflist|1}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book | last=Baraban | first=R.S. | last2=Durocher | first2=J.F. | title=Successful Restaurant Design | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-470-25075-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w1HT3EDrXWoC&pg=PA17 | pages=17–18}}
- Committee on Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine (2007). [https://books.google.com/books?id=tu5qBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT97 Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools]. National Academies Press. page 83.
- Mosimann, Anton (1983). [https://books.google.com/books?id=MlL4dXANw2kC Cuisine à la carte]. Macmillan Publishers Limited. 304 pages.
External links
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