Ice Cream Terminology: "A La Mode"

[Forgiveness requested with regards to the absence of the correct diacritical. I cannot figure out how to do accent grav organically on squarespace.]

Happy Belated Fourth of July! I had a quiet but delicious fourth that featured pounds of fried chicken and sweet potato pie, garnished, of course, with a scoop of ice. Which got me thinking about the origins of the phrase "à la Mode" [diacritical courtesy of Wikipedia]

Like most amazing innovations, the concept of "a la mode" came about in the nineteenth century, when Swiss restaurateur John Gieriet designed a Francophillic menu for his newly purchased hotel in Duluth, MN that included blueberry pie with ice cream:

Sweet Potato Pie a la mode.

"On the Hotel La Perl’s first day of business, John Gieriet served up a fancy dinner that included French pickles, oysters, French peas, and Lake Superior Trout. For dessert, he served warm blueberry pie and vanilla ice cream. Gieriet called the popular treat 'Pie a la Mode”.

Merci beaucoup, Msr. Gieret for promulgating a most marvelous albeit simple creation: the slice o' piece and scoop o' ice cream.