For other uses, see À la carte (disambiguation).
À la carte (pronounced /ælæˈkɑrt/)[1] is a French language loan phrase meaning "according to the menu", and used in restaurant terminology as:
- A reference to a menu of items priced and ordered separately, rather than selected from a list of preset multi-course meals at fixed prices, in contrast to a table d'hôte, at which a menu with limited or no choice is served at a fixed price.
- To designate an option to choose, at no extra charge, a side dish to accompany a main course item.
The phrase was adopted into English in 1826, predating by a decade the common use of the French language loanword "menu".[2][3]
See also
References
- ^ "À la carte". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2nd ed. 1989.
- ^ Richard Bailey, Eating Words, Michigan Today, 13 May 2008.
- ^ Menu, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Houghton Mifflin
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