À la carte

Steak à la carte, with no side dish or garnish; these must be requested separately.

Template:Sidebar In restaurants, à la carte (Template:IPAc-en; Template:IPA, Template:Literally)<ref>Template:OED</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is an early 19th century loan from French meaning "according to the menu".<ref name="OED">Oxford English Dictionary</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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").<ref name=OED/> These pre-date the use of the word menu, which came into English in the 1830s.<ref>Richard Bailey, Eating Words, Michigan Today, 13 May 2008. Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=OED/>

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
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Bibliography

• Template:Cite book
• 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.