AlwaysInvestigating: Hungry Hippos Eat “The Hippo”

The Gluttoness — May 13, 2009

The last time the CORE chose a place to eat based on the word ‘hippo,’ it led to a meal at Fat Hippo, and a disastrous review. Undeterred on our quest to find all things high-quality Hippo, we set out to test a grilled chicken Churrasco, called, “The Hippo” at Island Burgers & Shakes.

This hole-in-the-wall joint occupies a narrow space decorated with surfboard shaped cutouts and lined with circular, ketchup and mustard colored tables. Ironically, it’s the plate-wide churrascos, not the burgers, which the restaurant’s sign promotes. There are more than fifty different topping combinations available for Island Burger’s plate-wide sandwiches, from the Cordon Bleu (ham and swiss on sourdough) to the Tijuana (bacon, jack cheese, guacamole and onion). All are available on over-sized burgers and on Churrascos with lettuce, onions and pickles. You can opt to build your own sandwich using the list of extras (for example, blackened chicken with bayou mayonnaise) and choose between buns (sesame, pita, Pullman sourdough, dark rye or ciabatta).

“The Hippo,” an open-faced churrasco, is a butterflied, grilled chicken breast topped with curried sour cream, bacon, cheddar, onion, scallion and guacamole. Like the animal after which it’s named, the sandwich is tremendous— the poor pita could barely handle the chicken, let alone the wealth of toppings. It seemed to scream out, “Set me free!”

In order to create a workable sandwich, the chicken needed to be cut. The first bite was an overwhelming creamy mess of sour cream and guacamole. A more carefully constructed bite featuring every element was much better. The mishmash of flavors was good, but it really came down to a tug-of-war between the curry and the guacamole. Surprisingly, the bacon disappeared in the madness—never a good thing. The lingering curry flavor ultimately won.

Our verdict? The sandwich tasted very good, but structurally it has problems. The heavy sauces make the pita soggy and too easy to rip— something two slices of Pullman sourdough bread would easily fix. Though there is room for improvement, this is definitely a Hippo that we would play with.