À la carte À la carte 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". 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
Opera a la Carte (US) style Gilbert and Sullivan productions. Opera a la Carte (US) Opera a la Carte is a Los Angeles-based Gilbert and Sullivan professional touring repertory company. It was founded in 1970 by British Gilbert and Sullivan artist Richard Sheldon (1935–2016), who directed its productions as closely as possible to the style and practice of the original productions of the Savoy operas by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Sheldon retired from Opera a la Carte in 2014. The company often presents "H.M.S. Pinafore", "The Pirates of Penzance" and "The Mikado". As of 2016, Opera a la Carte continues to tour in the