Hippopotamus Ternes/Wagram in the 8th: “John, you’re not serious, why did you go? And is it true you walked out without paying?"

Why did I go?

1. I was misled like Humphrey Bogart's Rick who went to Casablanca for “the waters.”.
2. It’s nice to slum around.
3. I wanted to see where the Trumpians eat.
4. I read that ‘ippo ‘ as it’s pronounced here, is trying to upscale itself.
5. I needed a horse fix.
6. I wanted to see if my 1-10 rating scale really works?

If you answered any or all of the above you pass. Congratulations!

5.9 (7.0 meat, -1.1 Admin =) Hippopotamus Ternes/Wagram, 46, rue Wagram in the 8th, open 7/7, 01.46.22.13.96, (Metro: Ternes) is one of the fast food chain restos in Paris that I've made fun of for years as the worst of French cuisine.  But when I read that at their Ternes/Wagram location they were upscaling their offerings and had horse on the menu, I had to go.

A look at the carte told me the only horse meat was in a steak hache, not what I wanted, but on the table was an advert for steak a la poivre, which I did want.  

My dining partner took one look at the carte and said “not much for vegetarians here?”  “Yup” I said.  “Want to split a salad?”  “Nope.”  “Ok I’ll have the bbq ribs with haricots verts.”  Her ribs were picked to the bone with much discrete French-Swiss finesse and I finished all my steak, which for me was a first

.

Then she had a fine cafe gourmand and I had what was called sabayon with apricots that was not sousvide, Metro or from the freezer.

The bill, John?  The bill?  I have no idea.  I have walked out of restaurants without paying four times in my life, once in Pamplona where I did run with the bulls and ate with Peter Fonda, to drop a name, when he was the intended victim of an old man’s dirty desire, once in Philadelphia when the kitchen blew up, once on the East Side when the husband and wife had an argument that closed down the kitchen and once in on the West Side after a bomb scare.  In this case, I hailed 5 waitfolks 5 times in 30 minutes and finally was told the computer etc., was en panne and after another 10 minutes I walked out.  If they want their money, since I’d made a reservation on line, they can find me. Db’s awful = 88.8

Go back?  It’s complicated.  The potato chips were great, the bread and fries blah, the wine and coffee good. Plus, the meat was surprisingly good, well sourced and beautifully cooked.  The desserts not bad at all.  Computers malfunction; so I cannot hold that against them much.  And despite my snobbism about chains, it wasn’t a bad meal at all.  A plus, a bus passed called Bustronomie came by.  Can’t beat that.