Don Draper’s Year of Eating Dangerously continues! Apparently the threat of being squirted by chicken Kiev wasn’t enough for poor Bethany—now she’s got to contend with chicken-scented hair and a date who doesn’t know how to use chopsticks.

Started in 1964 by a Japanese wrestler who wrangled up funds by driving an ice cream truck, Benihana was to be a place where curious Americans (ones younger than Roger Sterling, for obvious reasons) could dine at a teppanyaki table (it means ‘steel grill’ and ‘fried’, basically) and be served by a knife-tossing, joke telling Japanese chef.

Founder Rocky Aoki and chefs

The fare, largely meat, vegetables, and rice grilled together, wouldn’t have been wildly exotic to the average New Yorker, especially once they got over the whole Japanese food=raw fish thing, but the ambience (and specialty cocktails served in glasses shaped like Sumo wrestlers) proved charming—once they got over the peculiarity of sharing a table with strangers, the New York Herald’s critics gave Benihana a rave review, and by mid-1965 regular guests included the Beatles and Muhammad Ali.

Benihana currently operates in 17 countries, it’s particular style of dining proving as globally appealing as date nights and business peacocking, it seems.

Footnote by Angela Serratore

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   People will also find it interesting that aside from creating Benihana, Rocky Aoki created two children, “actress” Devon...

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