Michael Baroody
A Look at American Restaurant Menus Through Time
In general, there are two types of restaurant menus: à la carte menus and table d'hôte
menus. Wikipedia defines an à la carte menu as a "reference to a menu of items priced and
ordered separately, i.e. the usual operation of restaurants..." whereas a table d’hôte menu is
defined as a menu "where multi-course meals with only a few choices are charged at a fixed
total price."1 2 Aside from the menus some airlines hand out for airplane meals or menus at
formal banquets, I do not remember the last time I went to a restaurant that had a table d’hôte
menu. Moreover, the fact that à la carte menus are considered an integral part of the “usual
operation of restaurants” tells us that today, à la carte menus comprise the majority of all
restaurant menus. Before the mid-twentieth century, however, table d’hôte menus were very
popular. Why à la carte menus became “the usual operation of restaurants” as opposed to table
d’hôte service reflects the changing demands from the restaurant market by restaurant-goers in
America.
Restaurants—using the most basic definition as a place that serves food to patrons—
have probably been around since the dawn of civilization. It is easy to imagine ancient man
traveling to a new city and paying for lodging and food. Today, this type of place is called an
inn, and inns constitute some of the first “restaurants” (I use quotes because the term restaurant
did not appear in American print until 1824) in America.3 Notable inns and coffeehouses in
post-colonial America include the City Tavern in Philadelphia, the Bunch of Grapes Tavern in
Boston, Fraunce’s Tavern in New York, and George Burns’ Coffeehouse also in New York.4
At these types of “restaurants,” the patron ate what the chef served him, with little room for
choice. One could argue that table d’hôte menus stem from this inn-style service, which is why
many early restaurants in America used them exclusively.
In the 1850s, many restaurants in America used table d’hôte menus that were changed
everyday according to the chef. On October 10, 1856, for example, the Troy House served an
eight-course dinner consisting of “Soup,” “Fish,” “Boiled,” “Roast,” “Entrees,” “Vegetables,”
“Pastry,” and “Dessert” courses. Most courses had multiple dishes for the customer to choose
from, but the whole dinner was sold at a fixed price, and thus customers could not pick and
choose dishes.5 At this time, even breakfasts were served table d’hôte-style, although the
breakfast menus probably did not change everyday like their dinner menu counterparts. In
1859, the Metropolitan Hotel in New York City was serving a seven-course breakfast that
consisted of “Cold,” “Broiled,” “Fried,” “Stewed,” “Eggs,” “Potatoes,” and “Bread” multichoice courses. This breakfast also came with the costumer’s choice of “Tea,” “Coffee,” or
“Chocolate.”6 In this time period, restaurant-goers paid for individual meals as opposed to
individual items on a menu. In other words, they ate what the chef wanted them to eat.
Fast-forward about fifty years and many restaurant menus are still using the table
d’hôte format, although some restaurants have begun to adopt the à la carte-style menu as well.
In 1907, the Mills Hotel in New York City had both styles for the costumer to choose from. At
the top of the menu, the Mills listed all their dishes with the prices alongside. The second half
of the menu was entitled “Regular Dinner,” and it was sold at a fixed-price (thirty cents) and
included four courses with many choices for each course.7 Although many restaurants still
utilized table d’hôte-style menus exclusively, and some used à la carte-style menus
exclusively, the Mills Hotel’s menu is an important one because it highlights a transitory
period in the demands of American restaurant-goers from fixed-price meals to the ability to
pick and choose what they wanted to eat and pay for.
The option to purchase a fixed-price meal was popular throughout the twentieth
century, but restaurant owners recognized the importance of letting the costumer choose for
himself whether he wanted an entire meal or just a specific dish. In 1969, the Edwardian Room
in the Plaza Hotel in New York City followed this ideal. At the top of its menu, the Edwardian
listed the choices for the first, second, and third courses, should the costumer have chosen the
“Complete Luncheon” option as opposed to the “à la Carte” one. These options and their
respective prices are listed alongside each entrée.8 Thus each entrée determined the price of the
complete meal. Technically this was no longer a fixed-price meal, but one can certainly still
consider it table d’hôte-style menu. This style of pricing occurred as early as the 1940s as
well.9
By the 1980s, virtually every menu was à la carte-style and table d’hôte-style menus
were reserved for banquets and other formal events. At this point, and maybe even before,
entrees actually became full meals. The chicken entrée at The Charleston Garden, for example,
is “served with rice and a vegetable.” At the same time, though, there was a “Complete
Luncheon Special: served with a salad, beverage, and dessert,” as if The Charleston was trying
to simulate a course-based meal.10 Restaurants by this time period were catering to every
possible customer. Even entrees, now technically full meals, could be modified according to
the customer’s needs. Table d’hôte-style service was a thing of the past, but many restaurants
began replacing multi-course dishes with large dishes. In a way, these large dishes became
fixed-price meals.
Today, not much has changed. Most menus are à la carte and the customer can have
virtually whatever he wants. Why this happened can be summarized in a comment a user left
regarding a special fixed-price holiday menu:
Jeff: …BOYCOTT ANY RESTAURANT that tries to force you to use a prix fixe
menu, whether it’s Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve or any other time. We as
customers have to exercise our rights for CHOICE and VARIETY and NOT pay overinflated prices for fewer options. That is idiotic and quite frankly a rip-off. I am
offended when a restaurant suddenly thinks that I want to do “prix fixe” just because it
happens to be a holiday… $40 or $50 a plate and YOU tell me my options for
dinner?…11
On the same post, though, were comments such as this one:
Julie: I love it. It makes us try new different things. Also, sometimes my brain is so
fried that its nice not to think/choose items. 12
It seems that even today some people still enjoy table d’hôte-style menus, but consumers like
Jeff above clearly dominate the restaurant market’s customer base.
The transition from table d’hôte menus being the norm to à la carte menus being the
norm has been a gradual one that started in the nineteenth century and was completed in the
twentieth century. This transition was fueled by restaurant goers like Jeff above who refused to
be told what to eat when choosing to pay for food. While it was the smart move on the part of
restaurants in America to give the power of choice to their customers, there was definitely
something lost when à la carte menus became the norm. When I go to a restaurant (excluding
fast food and convenience restaurants), I look for what the chef is trying to accomplish through
his food; what dishes he wants his customers to enjoy. That is why I always get the chef’s
special if it is available. After all, the chef of a restaurant has made deliberate choices for every
single one of his dishes, and this should be respected. Moreover, when table d’hôte menus
were the norm, the costumer, in a sense, had a more intimate experience with the chef because
he was eating exactly what the chef wanted him to eat. Ultimately, if a customer insists on
having what he wants without being open minded about new foods and the intentions of the
chef, then why not stay at home and eat?
1
"À la carte." <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/À_la_carte>.
2
"Table d'hôte." <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_d'hôte>.
3
Mariani, John. "America's Great Historic Restaurants."Forbes. 24 Nov 2010: n. page. Web.
27 Mar. 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/2010/11/23/american-historic-restaurantslifestyle-travel-food-dining.html>.
4
Patterson, C. A. 30 years of progress in American hospitality: A historical sketch of the
National Restaurant Association. Chicago: American Restaurant Magazine, 1949.
Print.
5
Bill of Fare. Troy, NY: Troy House, 1856. Web.
<http://menus.nypl.org/menu_pages/32091>.
6
Breakfast Bill of Fare. New York, NY: Metropolitan Hotel, 1859. Web.
<http://menus.nypl.org/menu_pages/29481>.
7
Mills Hotel. New York, NY: Mills Hotel, 1907. Web.
<http://menus.nypl.org/menu_pages/31627>.
8
Luncheon. New York, NY: The Plaza Hotel: Edwardian Room, 1969. Web.
<http://menus.nypl.org/menu_pages/49930>.
9
Dinner. New York, NY: Chez Marie Restaurant, 1948. Print.
10
Menu. The Charleston Garden, 1989. Web. <http://menus.nypl.org/menus/29239>.
11
Turnkett, Jenny. "Exploring the issue of holiday prix fixe menus." . Access Atlanta, 10 Feb
2011. Web. 27 Mar 2013. <http://blogs.ajc.com/food-and-more/2011/02/10/exploringthe-issue-of-holiday-prix-fixe-menus/?cxntfid=blogs_food_and_more>.
12
See footnote 11.