Review: Fat Hippo

Every couple weeks, we'll be filing proper restaurant reviews—with, deep breath, stars. On such occasions, Metromix dines unannounced and pays full price for the meal.

It’s been two months since we first visited this American comfort spot opened in the old 71 Clinton Fresh Food location, and our initial meal showed all the signs of the first-month wobbles. Though blessed with an Aureole-alum chef (Ten Vong), media-friendly novelties (hamburger slider fondue) and a relatively inexpensive menu that dovetailed perfectly with the tanking economy, there were some major highs and lows, to be addressed during our return trip. Would certain dishes actually include seasoning this time around? Would the service improve (we were undamagingly told the slider beef was “cow”)? Did the restaurant play anything other than Biggie and Wu-Tang? Not a complaint, but just saying. —MR

What's that address again? 71 Clinton.
There's some serious culinary legacy at this space, having once housed the acclaimed restaurant that served as an incubator for A-list talent like Wylie Dufresne and Jason Neroni. Turns out, there's another connection there, too: Fat Hippo's Vong knew Dufresne from way back when they both worked for the Jean Georges empire. In keeping with the space's legacy, Fat Hippo crackles with ambition: Vong, a Malaysian native who grew up in Baltimore, told us earlier this year that he was shooting for "New York comfort food"—aka homey grub with a global flair—"but at the core of it, our philosophy is American." A whimsical and adventurous spirit infuses the menu here, which hasn't changed much since our first visit and includes touches like a Thai-inspired calamari and that much-blogged-about burger fondue.—ALL

Now, about that burger fondue…
We’ll give chef Vong credit for creativity. He freshens the stale slider concept with a spin that would have earned him valedictory honors at Hamburger University. Problem is, the six mini-burgers don’t taste very good whether submerged in bubbling cheese or not. The checker-size patties were cooked anywhere between charred well-done to medium-rare, which is really scary if you think about it too long. The tiny bun, a rock. But the biggest fumble was the cheese sauce, which we resist to call fondue. The boring blend of fontina, gruyere and cheddar lacked personality. White wine? Forget about it. Even a dash of bacon bits or raw onion couldn’t jazz-up this bust. Bottom line, the pot left our table mostly full. —MR

Good cop: Grapefruit and feta salad, sides
It’s obvious that the Malaysian-born chef knows his acids, adding calculated bursts of citrus and vinegar in his strongest dishes. A salad of grapefruit and feta, which we’re sure is a classic pairing in some far-off land we’ve never heard of, worked well with peppery pecans, olives and a light honey vinaigrette. Brussels sprouts with bacon and fried green tomatoes were lit up with lemon, the sprouts some of the best around. Sautéed calamari, plump and spicy, had a strong Asian identity with ginger, garlic, peanuts and lots of lime juice. Mac-and-cheese was anything but the comfort throwaway side, made with rotini and topped with a tasty layer of browned breadcrumbs. Oddly, the chef uses the same cheese blend here as in his fondue, which, as noted, works as a sauce, not a centerpiece. —MR

Bad cop: Meat loaf, crab cake, latkes, mozzarella balls, ceviche
What looked so appetizing on paper faltered big-time in execution. An anise-and-cinnamon-spiced turkey meatloaf, served with sweet-sour tamarind ketchup, was an impenetrable brick: dense, pâté-like and lacking any kind of lush and porous sponginess. The mushy crab cake didn’t fare any better, arriving at our table cold and watery. On the other hand, potato latkes—which accompanied standard-fare salmon with a nice apple-fennel slaw—were overfried beyond recognition, and lay there like two tragic spud corpses. Ho-hum mozzarella balls were forgettable at best, upstaged by an arugula salad with refreshing roasted tomatoes. As for all that acid that worked so well for the Brussels sprouts and calamari? It was nowhere to be found in the dish that needed it most: a gummy and inert shrimp ceviche that couldn't be salvaged despite efforts to jazz it up with cilantro and jalapenos. —ALL

One step forward, two steps back
For every good dish we got, there were two clunkers shortly behind it. Which is a pity, because—in addition to Vong's rich and deep experience—the restaurant has so much going for it, including a prime LES location and an inviting, minimalist-mod space, which was empty by 9 p.m. on the two nights we stopped by. Ultimately, Fat Hippo lets its ambition get ahead of its ability to deliver on its promise and pedigree. —ALL

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Photo by Sam Horine

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