5 of the Best Food Finds in Fort Collins, Colorado

Real Food Traveler

If you have ever been to Australia or Great Britain, you are probably familiar with their iconic dishes like savory meat pies. Ausssie transplant, Steve Phillips and his American wife Aimee have brought these delicacies to Ft. Collins and are serving homesick Aussies, Brits and anyone else who longs for traditional pub fare.

Having worked at his family’s bakery on Australia’s central coast, Steve learned the pastry secrets that made their meat pies a big hit among locals. This came in handy once he and Aimee decided to move to the U.S. and open a restaurant with the hope that Americans would come to love the traditional Aussie pies as much as their countrymen.

After having checked out many areas of Colorado, they ended up in the busy Campus West area of Ft. Collins, right next to the University of Colorado and opened Waltzing Kangaroo in 2016.

To their amazement, the line went out the door, and they sold everything before the end of the first day. “We were bombarded,” says Aimee, who found that so many people loved their experience that they became regulars after day one.

Using quality ingredients and spices imported from Australia they make everything from scratch. Each pie takes days to prepare starting with roasting bones and vegetables for stock that cooks for 11 hours.

The most popular pie at Waltzing Kangaroo is the Guinness® steak and mushroom. This is a hearty meal with rich flavor from the beer that is just perfect for those colder, Colorado days.  On the poultry side, you can’t go wrong with their chicken and white cheese sauce which is creamy and delicious. Their sides are also pretty amazing so my suggestion is to round out your meal with sweet potato mash and bright green mushy peas.

Wanting every aspect of their eatery to be a fair dinkum (That’s Aussie for tried and true.) experience, Steve and Aimee import Bundaberg Ginger Beer from back home. If you’ve never had a good ginger beer, don’t miss this flavor intensive experience.

For dessert, try their profiterole pastry filled with crème pâtissière and dipped in chocolate ganache or their vanilla slice; a creamy vanilla custard placed between light puff pastry with a tart lemon curd icing.