Jamie Milkman (formerly of Jamie's in Englewood Cliffs) started this restaurant with a design-a-meal menu, built around lists of meats and seafoods, toppings, sauces and sides (risotto, creamed spinach) from which diners could pick and choose.

An eclectic menu built on basic bistro fare is full of surprises, adding pungency, peppery heat or fruity sweetness to dishes that have their roots in Asia, France or regional America.

An outright dessert like a creamy bread pudding, or a Valrhona chocolate cake, has its place, after a menu built on vegetables or fish.

A menu built around beer, meat, mushrooms and cabbage reflects the cuisine of Italy's far North, but not in a rigorous way.

Scripts for graphical IRC clients may contain pop-ups, which extend or replace the menus built into the client.

Together, I think, they prove that meatless menus built from traditional foods can be not only satisfying but also enticing.

Not surprisingly, Grafton Cheddar is a star ingredient on the menu at the nearby Old Tavern, built in 1801.

"Order us some drinks and food," I told the flight-major, pointing to the menu built into the wall.

Mr. Vongerichten's menu, built upon sauces made with flavored oils rather then butter or cream, starts off with a pristine tuna tartar with golden waffled potatoes and chive oil ($10).

It had a more standard interface, based around built-in features instead of the older sliders and menus built from scratch.