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A combination meal, often referred as a combo-meal, [1] is a type of meal that typically includes food items and a beverage. They are a common menu item at fast food restaurants, and other restaurants also purvey them. Combination meals may be priced lower compared to ordering items separately, but this is not always the case. A combination meal is also a meal in which the consumer orders items à la carte to create their own meal combination.
The casada is a common type of lunch combination meal in Costa Rica and Panama.
Fast food combination meals typically include a main item (called entrée in American English, but not usually in French) such as a hamburger, a side dish such as fries, and a beverage such as a soft drink. [2] Other types of restaurants, such as fast-casual restaurants also offer combination meals. [3]
Combination meals may be priced lower compared to ordering the items separately, and this lower pricing may serve to entice consumers that are budget-minded. [2] [4] A 2010 study published in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing found that some consumers may order a combination meal even if no price discount is applied compared to the price of ordering items separately. [3] The study found that this behavior is based upon consumers perceiving an inherent value in combination meals, and also suggested that the ease and convenience of ordering, such as ordering a meal by number, plays a role compared to ordering items separately. [3] This study also found that the presence of combination meals encourages consumers to increase meal portion size by supersizing their meals. [3]
A combination meal can also comprise a meal in which separate dishes are selected by consumers from an entire menu, and can include à la carte selections that are combined on a plate. [5] A fast food combination meal can contain over 1,300 calories (5,400 kJ). [6] Fast food restaurants sometimes offer a means to order larger portions of food within the format of the combination meal, such as supersizing. [7]
In the United States in the early 1930s, the combination meal was a popular dish in restaurants and in homes. [lower-alpha 1]
In Costa Rican and Panamanian cuisine, a combination meal is referred to as a casado, which means "married". [9] [10] It is a typical lunch dish in both countries. [9] [10] In Costa Rica, a casado typically consists of a meat dish, rice and beans, and deli salads. [9] Additional foods comprising the Costa Rican casado can include fried plantain, noodles and tomatoes. [11] In Costa Rica, the term plato del día (plate of the day) is frequently used interchangeably with the term casado. [11]
In Panama, a casado typically consists of an entree, rice and beans, and cabbage. [10] In Panama, the plato executive, which means "executive plate", is a prix fixe (fixed price) lunch menu offered in some upscale restaurants that is similar in concept to the casado. [10]
The Spanish version of the combination meal, known as plato combinado, is a staple in bars and restaurants across the country. These meals are popular as they are affordable and can be quickly cooked to order. They often consist of a main (meat, e.g. grilled steak, hamburgers or breaded cutlets; seafood, e.g. fried calamari or grilled squid; fish, battered or grilled; or other fried foods, such as croquettes), a side dish of salad or French fries (in some cases, mixed vegetables or peas), and a fried egg.
The meals date back to the Spanish Civil War. During that period, the Francoist dictatorship introduced a single-dish day (Día del Plato Único), which initially took place every fortnight and then each Friday, in order to support the war effort. However, most upscale restaurants circumvented the rule by increasing serving sizes or using ingredients in short supply, such as seafood, fish or fresh eggs. [12] In its current iteration, the plato combinado was designed to cater to the increasing number of tourists during the Spanish miracle. To do so, the meals and their prices were normalised; in this way, the offerings would be consistent across the country. As the meal sets were not popular with tourists, the government began to promote them amongst the local population, where they were well received. This could be explained by their association with American-style diners, which were fashionable in the 1950s and 1960s. [12]
Despite their popularity, the plato combinado is often seen as unhealthy and outdated. This is due to the cooking techniques used, as many of the products are deep-fried. In addition, many of the products used tend to be lacking in quality, as they are mostly frozen. [13] In this sense, the fare is similar to that served in cafés or greasy spoons in the United States and the United Kingdom.
A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis; condiments such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish, or a "special sauce," often a variation of Thousand Island dressing; and are frequently placed on sesame seed buns. A hamburger patty topped with cheese is called a cheeseburger.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to meals:
Costa Rican cuisine is known for being fairly mild, with high reliance on fruits and vegetables. Rice and black beans are a staple of most traditional Costa Rican meals, often served three times a day. Costa Rican fare is nutritionally well rounded, and nearly always cooked from scratch from fresh ingredients. Owing to the location of the country, tropical fruits and vegetables are readily available and included in the local cuisine.
Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredients and served in packaging for take-out/take-away. Fast food was created as a commercial strategy to accommodate large numbers of busy commuters, travelers and wage workers. In 2018, the fast food industry was worth an estimated $570 billion globally.
A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard box with a yellow smiley face and the McDonald's logo. The packaging and toy are frequently part of a marketing tie-in to an existing television series, film or toyline.
Saimin is a noodle soup dish common in the contemporary cuisine of Hawaii. Traditionally consisting of soft wheat egg noodles served in a hot dashi garnished with diced green onions and a thin slice of kamaboko, modern versions of saimin include additional toppings such as char siu, sliced Spam, sliced egg, or shredded nori. When Chinese dumplings are added to the noodle soup, it is seen on menus as the heartier wonton min. All saimin establishments have their own, often secret recipe for the soup base, but primarily use kombu and dried shrimp as major ingredients. Common table condiments mixed in the saimin broth are Chinese hot mustard and soy sauce, added in small quantities according to each individual's taste. Many local residents of Hawaii also enjoy barbecued teriyaki beef sticks (skewers) or American hamburgers as a side dish.
A blue-plate special is a discount-priced meal that usually changes daily: a term used in the United States and Canada by restaurants, especially diners and cafes.
In restaurant terminology, a table d'hôte menu is a menu where multi-course meals with only a few choices are charged at a fixed total price. Such a menu may be called prix fixe. The terms set meal and set menu are also used. The cutlery on the table may also already be set for all of the courses.
A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal.
A value meal is a group of menu items at a restaurant offered together at a lower price than they would cost individually. They are common at fast food restaurants. A typical value meal includes a main dish, a side dish and a soft drink. Value meals are a common merchandising tactic to facilitate bundling, up-selling, and price discrimination. The perceived creation of a "discount" on individual menu items in exchange for the purchase of a "meal" is also consistent with the Loyalty Marketing school of thought. Additionally, the term is based on value theory, which utilizes certain marketing tactics to encourage people to spend more money than they originally intended on their purchase.
In the cuisine of the Southern United States, a meat and three restaurant is one where the customer picks one meat from a daily selection of three to six choices and three side dishes from a list that may include up to a dozen other options.
Rice and beans, or beans and rice, is a category of dishes from many cultures around the world, whereby the staple foods of rice and beans are combined in some manner. The grain and legume combination provides several important nutrients and many calories, and both foods are widely available. The beans are usually seasoned, while the rice may be plain or seasoned. The two components may be mixed together, separated on the plate, or served separately.
Carne asada fries are a local specialty found on the menus of restaurants primarily in the American Southwest, including San Diego, where it originated. The dish is also served at Petco Park and Dodger Stadium. By 2015, fast food chain Del Taco began to sell the item.
Hamburg steak is a patty of ground beef. Made popular worldwide by migrating Germans, it became a mainstream dish around the start of the 19th century. It is related to Salisbury steaks, which also use ground beef. It is considered the origin of the ubiquitous hamburger, when, in the early 20th century, vendors began selling the Hamburg steak as a sandwich between bread.
Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the USA, while categorisation differs widely around the world.
Lunch is a meal eaten around the middle of the day. It is commonly the second meal of the day, after breakfast, and varies in size by culture and region.
Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. is a company that owns the master franchise of the fast food restaurant chain, McDonald’s in 20 countries within Latin America and the Caribbean. As of December 31, 2010, it represented 6.7% of McDonald's franchised restaurants globally. It has more than 81,250 employees, one of the region's leading employers of young, first-time job holders. It is the largest quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain in Latin America and the Caribbean serving over 4.3 million customers daily.
A meal is an eating occasion that takes place at a certain time and includes consumption of food. The names used for specific meals in English vary, depending on the speaker's culture, the time of day, or the size of the meal.
The soup and sandwich combination meal consists of a soup accompanied by a sandwich. It has been a popular meal in the United States since the 1920s. Some U.S. restaurant chains specialize in the meal, and it has been mass-produced as a prepared frozen meal.