It's so amazingly delightful to find a true "treasure" practically in your backyard. Ron and I just returned from visiting one: Waltzing Kangaroo, serving handcrafted Australian food, right here in our own Fort Collins. I was so excited, I just had to get the words down as soon as we walked through our front door!
Upon entering the clean, bright, and modern open-kitchen premises, we noticed that the pastry cases were in short supply of their meat, chicken , and savory pies.That was because the lunch crowd wiped them out!
No fret, because two large trays of various baked Australian pies were pulled out from the oven. A finishing touch of egg wash was applied on the tops with a pastry brush and popped back in for a further 8-minutes. Results: perfectly golden- baked crusts.
The owners, Steve ( Australian) and his wife, Aimee ( American) Phillips, put years of thought and precise planning to making their dream come true: opening an Australian meat pie shop and introducing these delectable pies to an American audience.
There has been no short cuts in the preparation of their menu. Everything, and I mean everything, is made from scratch: the shortcrust and pastry shells, sausage rolls, salad dressing, the slow-cooked beef stock, quiches, and the scrumptious sweets.
Great care was considered in serving the perfect cup of coffee. They refused to serve nothing less than the best Australian-style espresso. The local Coffee Registry found this to be an exciting new challenge to take on. According to Steve and Aimee, they hit right on target. Ron, who never ever drinks coffee, wouldn't leave my cup alone!
We shared a delicious Steak & Gravy pie containing chunks of tender steak swimming in a rich all-natural gravy. The Lamb & Rosemary pie had flavorful morsels of lamb in a rosemary and roasted garlic sauce. Three popular Australian sides helped to round out the meal: mash potatoes, sweet potato mash, and mushy peas. We fought over the peas, (I wished my mother could have seen that; I was the kid who hid my peas in the dinner paper napkin!)
Aimee had us taste the Australian Bundaberg Ginger Beer (no alcohol). Ron and I "voted" it the best of all the ginger beers we have tried throughout our many travels. So far, no disappointments; the treasures just kept coming right on through to the in-house made desserts. All are made fresh from scratch and in ample servings. We tried the Profiteroles, made in a light choux pastry filled with creme patisserie. The popular Australian Vanilla Slice is filled with vanilla custard between puff pastry and topped with a delicate lemon icing.
By this time I was already making a check list of what I'm going to be ordering on our soon-to -be return trip. Without any doubt, The Waltzing Kangaroo will be Fort Collin's newest hidden gem. And we are so grateful that this American-Australian couple have made such efforts to share their love of these iconic foods with us!
