Floaters is an Australian dish sold from food waggons in the street.
It’s an individual portion size meat pie (an “Aussie Meat Pie”) served upside down in a disposable plastic bowl in a pool of thick split green pea soup, with lots of ketchup.
The meat in the meat pies is ground beef, though you can get different flavoured pies such as curry, etc.
Some restaurants are now giving the whole concept a posh touch, with Floaters such as Pumpkin and Cauliflower Pie, or Thai Chicken Pie, in a Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup and Beef Burgundy Pie in French Onion Soup.
The street cost is around $5.00 Australian (2002 prices.)
Floaters are popular with those who have been out on a drinking bender, and who have got the early-morning munchies.
“Harry’s Cafe de Wheels” in Sydney is also a popular pie cart.
History Notes
Floaters have been around since at least the early 1900s. They originated in the state of South Australia.
One of the more famous pie carts was Cowley’s Pie Cart. in Adelaide, Australia, which was sold in 2002 to a new owner.
Adelaide is the capital of the state of South Australia. It was named after the wife of King William IV, Queen Adelaide.