'A la mode' describes a dessert served with a scoop of ice cream, most often vanilla, added to warm pie, cake, or cobbler. The phrase comes from the French for "in the fashion" and became closely associated with American diner and home-style desserts such as apple pie a la mode; the same French phrase is also used separately in classical French cooking to name braised beef dishes (boeuf a la mode), a usage unrelated to ice cream. Other ice cream flavors, or a scoop of sorbet, can be substituted, and the dessert is occasionally finished with whipped cream or caramel sauce.