" " A chef works an open air hibachi grill, where customers can select their entree and then watch while it's prepared in front of them. Paul Morigi/Getty Images If you were a kid growing up in America from the 1980s onward, there's a good chance you attended — or even hosted — a family gathering or birthday party at the chain restaurant Benihana. Maybe you delighted in the chefs who chopped your food at lightning-fast speed and grilled your meal before your very eyes. Benihana is perhaps the most famous American incarnation of the hibachi — sometimes known as teppanyaki — style of cooking.