What type of cooking surface is characteristic of the high-energy dining experience diners in the United States usually call hibachi?
Answer
A large, flat iron surface
When individuals in the United States refer to going out for hibachi, they are almost universally describing an experience centered around a large, flat iron surface, which is technically a teppan. This flat griddle cooks food via direct contact, facilitating high, even heat transfer through conduction. This contrasts sharply with the traditional Japanese hibachi, which relies on charcoal heat, and is functionally similar to the teppanyaki style of cooking where food is grilled directly on the iron plate set up for communal dining and performance.

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What are the Japanese root words composing the term hibachi (火鉢)?What type of cooking surface is characteristic of the high-energy dining experience diners in the United States usually call hibachi?The style of dining popularized in the US, featuring acrobatic knife skills, is functionally much closer to which Japanese cooking method?What heat source provides the distinctive smoky element characteristic of authentic Japanese grilling methods like yakitori or sumibiyaki?Which specific dramatic elements defined the American adaptation of Japanese grilling, often marketed as 'hibachi'?What was the primary historical function of the traditional, portable Japanese hibachi device?How does the scale of the traditional Japanese hibachi apparatus compare to the modern American restaurant grill?What do the components 'teppan' and 'yaki' signify in the term teppanyaki?What other communal cooking style, involving fast searing on a large metal surface, often contributes to the confusion regarding the Chinese roots of 'hibachi'?The overall format of the American dining experience recognized as 'hibachi' is fundamentally characterized as what?