Australian Cuisine

I mentioned in an earlier post that Australia really doesn't have a cuisine. Perhaps I am mistaken. 

En route to Ayer's Rock from Sydney, I read an article in the Virgin Blue in-flight magazine about Australian restaurants. The article is called "There's No Place Like Home" written by Aussie Joel Meares. Meares writes that Aussie restaurants are becoming popular in New York in districts that are now being referred to as "Little Sydney" and "Little Melbourne". Cited restaurants in NYC are The Sunburnt Calf, Eight Mile Creek, Down Under Bakery, and Bondi Road.

So here is how Meares describes Australian food:

"So what constitutes Australian cuisine in this Australianised locale? The Barrier Reef Benedict with crab cakes, steak sandwiches, pickelets and hamburgers with the lot are all Australian, not to mention all-you-can-drink booze."

"Burgers piled as high as a wavering Jenga puzzle, layered with things Americans wouldn't dare slip between two sesame buns: a ring of pineapple, a crispy-edged fried egg and a sliver of beetroot."

"Barramundi drowned in Thai spices, standard iceberg lettuce salads, meat pies and quiches."

"Bold dishes such as emu carpaccio with black truffle oil, and a bancha green tea duck breast in macadamia sauce. Lamb roast served with baked potatoes, butternut pumpkin, peas, gravy, mint jelly, and of course, quality beer and wine."

"Based on British flavors and European techniques, Australian food has morphed with waves of migration from Italy, Greece, the Middle East and Asia. Anyone doing Australian food in NYC will say the same thing. Australian cuisine is the sum of the parts of who's come to Australia."

I couldn't agree more, which is probably why I had such a hard time understanding Australian cuisine at first. I did manage to sink my teeth into a kangaroo burger! The roo was not ground up, but instead cooked strip steak style and laid across the buns. Packed with tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and a spicy mayo sauce made for quite a  delectable dinner. The kangaroo meat on its own is quite tough, with a mix of beef and venison flavor, but without the gamey taste. Roo is also high in iron and has almost zero fat. What would it take to ship some home to the US?

I also enjoyed camel sausage at our campsite near Ayer's Rock, as well as daily lunch sandwiches with toppings of meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pineapple, corn, hot sauce, beetroot, and cucumbers. Basically anything goes. Good ol' Aussies!