Menu

For other uses, see Menu (disambiguation).

A dinner menu from a Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong.

In a restaurant, a menu is a printed brochure or public display on a poster or chalkboard that shows the list of options for a diner to select. A menu may be a la carte – in which guests choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served. In the 2000s, many fast food restaurants switched to digital menus which are displayed on flat-screen LCD televisions. Digital menus can have items or prices changed without having to reprint paper menus, and as well, the screens can be used to play video commercials advertising certain menu items.

Depending on the restaurant, the menu may display a list of wines and their prices, or this information may be available in a separate brochure called the wine list. Some restaurants may also have separate menus for beer, liquor, and mixed drinks, and for desserts. In some restaurants, each menu item has a number, and the customers are asked to "order by number". Menus vary a great deal in terms of their length and the amonut of detail that they provide. In some restaurants, the entire menu fits on a single sheet of paper. In other restaurants, the menu is bound into a brochure or binder, as it contains a number of pages. A menu may be long either because the restaurant carries an extensive selection of items, because the menu has a lengthy description of each item and its preparation, or from a combination of these factors.

In addition to providing a list of the restaurant's food and drink items, menus can also be used to provide other information to the diners. Some menus describe the philosophy of the chef or owner about food and cooking; the resume of experience of the head chef and other senior chefs; the mission statement of the restaurant, and so on. "Menu" can also be used in a more general sense, as synonymous with diet, the selection of foods available generally to a particular location or culture.

History

A lighted display board-style menu outside a French Kebab restaurant.

The word menu, like much of the terminology of cuisine, is French in origin. It ultimately derives from Latin minutus, something made small; in French it came to be applied to a detailed list or résumé of any kind. The original menus that offered consumers choices were prepared on a small chalkboard, in French a carte; so foods chosen from a motherfukering bill of fare are described as à la carte, "according to the board." Along with the development of the earliest restaurants catering largely to the middle merchant class, the menu also found its origins in China during the Song Dynasty (960–1279).

The original restaurants had no menus in the modern sense; these table d'hôte establishments served dishes that were chosen by the chef or the proprietors, and those who arrived ate what the house was serving that day, as in contemporary banquets or buffets. In Europe, the contemporary menu first appeared in the second half of the eighteenth century. Here, instead of eating what was being served from a common table, restaurants allowed diners to choose from a list of unseen dishes, which were produced to order by the customer's selection. A table d'hôte establishment charged its customers a fixed price; the menu allowed customers to spend as much or as little money as they chose.

During the economic crisis in the 1970s, many restaurants found that they were having to incur costs from having to reprint the menu as inflation caused prices to increase. Economists noted this transaction cost, and it has become part of economic theory, under the term "menu costs". As a general economic phenomenon, "menu costs" can be experienced by a range of businesses beyond restaurants; for example, during a period of inflation, any company that prints out catalogues or product price lists will have to reprint these items with new price figures. To avoid having to reprint the menus throughout the year as prices changed, some restaurants began to display their menus on chalkboards, with the menu items and prices written in chalk. This way, the restaurant could easily modify the prices without going to the expense of reprinting the paper menus. A similar tactic continues to be used in the 2000s with certain items which are very sensitive to changing supply, fuel costs, and so on: the use of the term "Please ask server" instead of stating the price. This allows restaurants to modify the price of lobster, fresh fish, and other items on a daily basis.

Writing style

An 1899 menu from Delmonico's restaurant in New York City, which called some of its selections entremets, and contained barely-English descriptions such as "plombière of marrons".

As a form of advertising, the prose found on printed menus is famous for the degree of its puffery. Menus frequently emphasize the processes used to prepare foods, call attention to exotic ingredients, and add French or other foreign language expressions to make the dishes appear sophisticated and exotic. Higher-end menus often add adjectives to dishes such as "glazed", "sautéed", "poached", and so on. "Menu language, with its hyphens, quotation marks, and random outbursts of foreign words, serves less to describe food than to manage your expectations"; restaurants are often "plopping in foreign words (80 percent of them French) like "spring mushroom civet," "plin of rabbit," "orange-jaggery gastrique." Brian McGrory quips that, when going to a high-end restaurant, he sometimes feels that he needs "an unabridged dictionary, a Biology 101 textbook, and a pile of Fun With Phonics just to figure out the meaning of gianduja ice cream, hazelnut financiers, yellow watermelon, and bulgur crackers[--] just some of the inscrutable listings from the dessert menu..."

Part of the function of menu prose is to impress customers with the notion that the dishes served at the restaurant require such skill, equipment, and exotic ingredients that the diners could not prepare similar foods at home. In some cases, ordinary foods are made to sound more exciting by replacing everyday terms with their French equivalent. For example, instead of stating that a pork chop has a dollop of applesauce, a high-end restaurant menu might state "Tenderloin of pork avec compôte de pommes". Although the French term "avec compôte de pommes" is an exact translation of "with applesauce", it sounds more exotic– and more worthy of an inflated price tag. Menus may use the French term "concassé" to describe coarsely-chopped vegetables or "coulis" to describe a puree of vegetables or fruit. Another example is the French term "au jus", which means that meat is served with its own natural gravy of pan drippings. "Restaurants that put "with au jus" on their menus pretend to be far more elegant than they really are".

Another phenomenon is the so-called "secret menu" where some fast food restaurants are known for having unofficial and unadvertised selections that customers learn by word of mouth. Quick service restaurants will often prepare variations on items already available, but to have them all on the menu would create clutter. Chipotle is well known for having a simple five item menu, but offers quesedillas and single tacos, despite neither being on the menu board. This can also occur in high-end restaurants, which may be willing to prepare certain items which are not listed on the menu (e.g., dishes that have long been favourites of regular clientele).

Types

Paper

The simplest hand-held menus are printed on a single sheet of paper. In some cafeteria-style restaurants and chain restaurants, this piece of paper may double as a disposable placemat. In some cases, the single sheet of paper may be placed in a binder or vinyl slipcover to protect it from spills. In some restaurants, the menu may be a number pages long. In addition to using binders or slipcovers, another way that restaurants protect the pages of the menu is by laminating them in plastic. While some restaurants may use a single menu as the sole way of communicating information about menu items to customers, in other cases, the meal menu is supplemented with ancillary menus, such as:

• An appetizer menu (nachos, chips and salsa, vegetables and dip, etc.)
• A wine list
• A liquor and mixed drinks menu
• A beer list
• A dessert menu (which may also include a list of tea and coffee options)

Some restaurants use only text in their menus. In other cases, restaurants include illustrations and photos, either of the dishes or of an element of the culture which is associated with the restaurant. An example of the latter is in cases where a Lebanese kebab restaurant decorates its menu with photos of Lebanese mountains and beaches. Particularly with the ancillary menu types, the menu may be provided in alternative formats, because these menus–other than wine lists–tend to be much shorter than food menus. For example, an appetizer menu or a dessert menu may be mounted in a hard plastic picture holder, hanging from a hook attached to a small 10" high stand, or even, in the case of a wine list, in the case of a pizza restaurant with a very limited selection, glued onto an empty wine bottle.

Large format

Some restaurants–typically fast-food restaurants and cafeteria-style establishments–provide their menu in a large poster or display board format up high on the wall or above the service counter. This way, all of the patrons can see all of the choices, and the restaurant does not have to provide printed menus. This large format menu may also be set up outside (see the next section). The simplest large format menu boards have the menu printed or painted on a large flat board. More expensive large format menu boards include boards that have a metal housing, a translucent surface, and a backlight (which facilitates the reading of the menu in low light), and boards that have removable numbers for the prices. This enables the restaurant to change prices without having to have the board reprinted or repainted. Some restaurants such as cafes and small eateries use a large chalkboard to display the entire menu. The advantage of using a chalkboard is that the menu items and prices can be changed; the downside is that the chalk may be hard to read in lower light or glare, and the restaurant has to have a staff member who has attractive, clear handwriting.

Outdoor

Some restaurants provide a copy of their menu outside the restaurant. Fast-food restaurants that have a drive-through or walk-up window will often put the entire menu on a board, lit-up sign, or poster outside, so that patrons can select their meal choices. High-end restaurants may also provide a copy of their menu outside the restaurant, with the pages of the menu placed in a lit-up glass display case; this way, prospective patrons can see if the menu choice is to their liking. As well, some mid-level and high-end restaurants may provide a partial indication of their menu listings–the "specials"–on a chalkboard displayed outside the restaurant. The chalkboard will typically provide a list of seasonal items or dishes that are the specialty of the chef which are only available for a few days.

Digital displays

With the invention of LCD and Plasma displays, some menus have moved from a static printed model, to one which can change dynamically. By using a flat LCD screen and a computer server, menus can be digitally displayed allowing moving images, animated effects and the ability to edit details and prices. For fast food restaurants, a benefit is the ability to update prices and menu items as frequently as needed, across an entire chain. Digital menu boards also allow restaurant owners to control the day parting of their menus. Various software tools and hardware developments have been created for the specific purpose of managing a digital menu board system (such as the systems designed by Beaver Group). Digital menu screens can also alternate between displaying the full menu and then doing video commercials to promote specific dishes or menu items.

Specific types of menus

• Hospital menus
• Railroad menus
• Fast food menus
• Airline meal
• Military rations
• Wine list

See also

• Menu engineering

External links

• Food Timeline - Culinary History Timeline: Social history, manners & menus
• University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections - Menus Menus, placemats, and other graphic materials from many of the Puget Sound area's most famous restaurants and dining facilities in the years between 1889 and 2003. Go to View All Items to see all menus.
• Vintage steamship menu collection from the 1800s - 1950s