Satisfying barbecue cravings @ Hippopotamus

While I certainly do love a good traditional French homecook meal, I certainly do not think that French cuisine is the ultimate culinary experience, for a self-claimed gourmand like myself. Although the choices of food are limited in this small town which I live in, we managed to find a restaurant to curb my barbecue cravings when it hit me recently.

We checked out the menus of a few similar restaurants online and decided on Hippopotamus Grill House. Their prices are reasonable and I spotted a really good looking dessert. To top it off, it is a place we have never tried. We were very happy with our restaurant experience with the Hippopotamus so we would like to share it with you.

A warm welcome

We arrived right at 11.30 a.m, that is when it opens its doors. The friendly store manager ushered us in. We were immediately seated and served with a small bucket of home-fried potato chips. It is nice to see restaurants making their effort to fried their own crisps. That says something about going the extra mile. Something you do not encounter often in France.

Apperitif and mains

French like to have apperitifs before a meal. Hence we ordered a kir to go with the chips as soon as we sat down. Subsequently, We were allowed sufficient time to go through the menu before a staff came to take our orders. Since we were set on trying their ribs, we decided to order a slow cooked lamb shank for our second dish. We were able to choose a sauce and a side dish for each of our main dish.

I went for the bechamel sauce while my husband chose the Chimichurri sauce. Chimicurri sauce is supposed to originate from argentina. Of course there is a barbecue sauce that comes with the grill ribs.

For side dishes we ordered gratin dauphine and a salad. The portion of the food was just right. We were also served freshly back bread to go with our meals.

Satisfied taste buds

The ribs fall right off the bones. However we feel that charring the rib rack slight more would give it a deeper flavor. As for the shank, it was really tender and came with a fresh twig of thyme. The flavor of the lamb was enhanced by the fresh thyme. I was able to extract a little bit of bone marrow from the shank too. The lamb went very well with the Gratin dauphine, which is basically a creamy potato bake topped with melted cheese.

Other exotic choices to suit adventurous gourmands

Although you might have to get your hands dirty having these dishes, there are other dishes available to suit everyone’s taste. Burgers and steaks are also on the menu. There are other slightly more exotic dishes such as bone marrow or horse steak. There is also a good selection of desserts and I had my eyes on the Hippo signature Profiterole.

Ice-cream Profiterole

Although it looked very sinful, it was not as sweet as it looked. It went down very easily and quickly. We did not have any regrets ordering and having this beautiful dessert.

The cost?

With a glass of wine, two main dishes and a dessert, our final bill came to about 50 euros. In our opinion, that is rather reasonable seeing that we only eat out once every half a year or so. The servis was great and prompt and the waiter was polite. All in all a satisfying dining experience. Most important of all, my crave for barbecue was satisfied.