The family behind Mercado Negro, Casa Portuguesa and Tia Delfina Goods have just launched their latest venture, the perfect sweet treat ideal for the warm months ahead. If you've never tried ice cream that's influenced by Portuguese flavours, now is your chance.
Located outside Mercado Negro, find a renovated horse trailer dishing out flavours like the popular Portuguese custard tart pastel de nata, Bolacha Maria which are tea cookies, ovos moles a sweet egg confection, passionfruit and more, all largely inspired by the owners' Portuguese heritage.
The ice cream recipes and flavours are spearheaded by the owner's son William Oliveira, who is often the one behind the creation of popular desserts they've served. Most notably, last summer's tripas de Aveiro, a Portuguese-style undercooked crepe that oozes with creamy fillings like Kinder Bueno or Ferrero Rocher.
In replacement of those popular treats this summer is Oliveira's ice cream. Scoops come served in cups, waffle cones or flaky pastries you may recognize from beloved pastel de nata custard tarts. These are made by Caldense Bakery, one of the oldest lines of Portuguese bakeries in Toronto and are only available in limited amounts.
"Ice cream is something I have had a very big affinity with since I was very young. One of my first appliances I ever bought myself with my own money was an ice cream machine," says Oliveira.
Despite never serving ice cream on the menu prior at Mercado Negro, due to Oliveira's longtime interest and familiarity with making ice cream, the decision to officially share it beyond their household was an easy one.
"This is a much larger-scale project with a lot more complexities, but it's just something that I connect to very personally and then implementing that kind of Portuguese side to it is going back to my own heritage in a sense."
While the main idea is to showcase iconic flavours inspired by Portuguese culture, Oliveira says he's got a lot of new flavours in the works, particularly ones that people traditionally gravitate towards, like strawberry, chocolate and vanilla.
The family settled on taking over a horse trailer after being in search of a place they could serve the ice cream out of, other than inside the restaurant.
"We were just kind of looking on Kijiji and other options for things that we could transform and a horse trailer just ended up being such a perfect fit we couldn't ignore it."
Hours for their horse trailer ice cream pop-up are Tuesday to Saturday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. and the vibrant Mercado Negro patio shaded by rows of colourful umbrellas is open seven days a week. Monday to Thursday from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 12 p.m. until 9 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m. meaning you can enjoy a nice glass of sangria with a fresh seafood dinner, then just walk a few steps from your table to end the night with a scoop of something sweet.
