‘À La Mode’ Is a Lonely Survivor of a French Culinary Code

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE French to know what à la mode means. Even at the humble American diner, where Gallic influence is usually limited to French fries and French dips, desserts are tagged with the term. Pies, cakes, and even pancakes and waffles can come crowned with a scoop of ice cream: in other words, à la mode.

American menus were once replete with such wording. Meaning in the fashion in French, à la mode is a relic of a time when elite diners worldwide used coded terms from classical French cuisine. Today, that system of naming has all but vanished outside of France and French restaurant [ . . . ]

Continue at ATLAS OBSCURA: ‘À La Mode’ Is a Lonely Survivor of a French Culinary Code – Gastro Obscura