Hibachi

This past weekend, I went to a hibachi restaurant with some friends and family. As I sat there eating the delectable food, I realized that I actually knew very little about the history and the origin of hibachi. I decided to do some internet research, and I learned some very interesting things.

One of the first things I learned is that the word hibachi is actually a misnomer. In the English language, hibachi refers to a type of Japanese restaurant where grills are integrated into tables. Customers typically sit at these tables and watch as a chef prepares their food, which may consist of beef, chicken, shrimp, scallops, rice, and vegetables. Chefs usually do the cooking in a theatrical way, often lighting things on fire and juggling cooking utensils. However, in the Japanese language, a hibachi is a special bowl used for heating homes as well as public places. It is not usually used for cooking. The correct name for hibachi-style cooking is teppanyaki, and the grill used for this type of cooking is called a teppan.

Another surprising thing I learned is that teppanyaki cooking is a relatively new invention. It was first introduced in Japan in 1945 by a restaurant called Misono. Because teppanyaki cooking was entertaining to watch and included many ingredients that were familiar to Americans and Europeans, it soon became popular with foreigners. In 1964, a man named Hiroaki Aoki brought teppanyaki to the United States when he opened a restaurant called Benihana in New York City. A few years later, he opened a similar restaurant in Chicago. Today, Benihana is a large company with restaurants all over the world.

Vocabulary

Delectable (adjective) - delicious, tasty

Origin (noun) - the place or situation where something begins to exist

Misnomer (noun) - a wrong or unsuitable name; an error in naming something

Integrated (adjective) - combining different parts in a way that works well

Theatrical (adjective) - relating to performing

Utensils (noun) - things such as a knife, fork, or spoon that are used for cooking or eating

Invention (noun) - a new thing that someone has made or designed

Ingredient (noun) - in cooking, one of the foods that is used to make a certain dish

Foreigner (noun) - someone from a different country

Vocabulary Practice

1. Pizza is a popular food of Italian _________.

2. Sometimes, a _________ may have trouble learning the language of his or her new country.

3. He read the letter in a ________ way, as if he was putting on a show for us.

4. At the restaurant, I had to ask for new _________ because I dropped my fork and spoon on the floor.

5. Professor Nenchin's pie was __________; we all enjoyed eating it.

6. Cheese is an important _________ of pizza.

7. The word parkway is a _________ because we do not park on parkways.

8. The printing press was an important _________ because it helped to make books more widely available.

9. Our city's _________ transportation system includes buses and trains. Together, they help millions of people get to where they need to go.

Grammar Point

 Oftentimes, words from one language are adopted into another language. Since the English language has been influenced by many different cultures, many foreign words have been adopted into English. Hibachi is one example of this. Other examples include pizza, café, and rodeo.

Grammar Practice

Find three English words that have been adopted from other languages. Write a sentence containing each one. If you are not sure about the origin of a word, look it up on http://dictionary.reference.com/