Hippopotamus

I apologize in advance for the graphic nature of this review. Even I find what I go on to describe hard to believe, but because it IS so hard to believe, I feel I have to describe it as closely as possible to my actual experience.
I decided upon the Hippopotamus Grille due to the serious lack of wheat-​free options in terminal 1 of CDG. I began with what I thought was plenty of time to get through passport control and security after eating. The server was friendly and seated me quickly. However, my visit rapidly changed from positive to very negative. While I waited almost 45 minutes for the sausage I ordered, I thought, «Not so much time now, but that’s OK. I’ll make it, and I’m incredibly hungry.»
Then, it was placed in front of me. The smell was atrocious. Based on the «aroma», if I closed my eyes, I would be magically transported into a Port Authority bathroom… and looking at what was on the plate in front of me made me want to close my eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that even the gentlemen next to me seemed surprised at the stench wafting off my plate. What sat in front of me was a large, suspicious-​looking, sausage-​like object served on top of average looking french fries. I braced myself, prayed that this would taste completely different than it smelled and cut into the «sausage». What looked like pieces of things that are not normally eaten unless starving fell out of the sausage casing onto my plate – not any type of sausage I was accustomed to. With my fork, I picked up a round, rubbery, pinkish piece of something that bounced out and attempted to chew this disgusting lump of rubber. It tasted worse than it smelled, and this was not meat like anything that I had ever eaten. I hoped that this piece was an exception. Certainly, the next piece I went for would be something edible. I forked another piece and quickly placed it in my mouth with the hopes of suppressing the putrid taste of the first bite. I really didn’t want to spit this out in a restaurant… It was more of the same… The more I chewed, the worse it got. What I was served tasted like what I can only describe as unwashed, undercooked entrails.
Now, I’m not a picky eater – I’ve eaten many things in my life that are out of the ordinary. I just could not force myself to continue. My hopes of actually satiating my hunger were quickly being shattered, and I was almost in shock at what was given to me to eat. I can’t remember doing this since I was a child, but I could not force myself to swallow it. I feared that I’d end up with a pathogenic form of E. coli. I picked up my napkin and «gracefully» removed the slop from my mouth. I cannot imagine that anyone else has happily eaten what I was given. I honestly don’t think I could have gotten through any more without involuntarily causing a real mess. I struggled to produce as much saliva as possible as I spit this out to try and flush as much of this putrid taste out of my mouth. I was still left with the taste of death and decay in my mouth after only chewing two or three times and not even swallowing. Now, a couple hours later, I’m hoping the rumbling in my stomach is only from hunger and not brewing food poisoning.
After realizing that I wasn’t going to be able to force this down and that my time to get to my gate was dwindling. I stood up and told the server that I just couldn’t eat what I was given.
The only redeeming thing for this visit was that the waitress did not make me pay for the «sausage» that I didn’t eat – only € 4.50 for the water I drank while waiting. I left this place hungrier, with horrid breath that I could still taste from only chewing 2 disgusting pieces of something that I couldn’t even swallow. I was left with little time to make my flight and would not be eating something before getting on the plane. I even had to go soap up my face, chew some strong gum and rinse out with water a couple times to try and keep the smell of death from growing in my mouth and on my face. The sad part is, I am not exaggerating.