Must-try: posh popsicles that taste like summer on a stick
At last year’s annual Roncesvalles block party, Janet Dimond lured foodies to a makeshift ice pop stand on the corner of Sorauren Street. She squeezed the juice by hand for a dozen flavours, added nothing more than a bit of sugar and some herbs, loaded up her deep freeze and sold 200 popsicles for $1 apiece. Since then, she has turned her one-day experiment into Augie’s Gourmet Ice Pops (named after her golden retriever), a bona fide cottage industry. She now sets up at farmers’ markets across the city. The flavours are intensely concentrated (summer fruit squeezed down to its sweet-tart essence) and creatively matched in combinations like blackberry-yuzu and strawberry-balsamic-basil. Each one tastes more like a killer virgin cocktail—garnish and all—than a kiddie treat. But judging by all the tiny popsicle-stained faces at farmers’ markets, kids are eager to refine their palates, too. $3 each.
Blackberry-yuzu
Grapefruit-ginger-lime
Strawberry-balsamic-basil
Lemon-buttermilk
Watermelon-lemon-mint
Honeydew-cucumber-lime-basil-mint
Saturdays at the Evergreen Brick Works, 550 Bayview Ave., 416-596-7670; Sundays at the Leslie ville Farmers’ Market, 20 Woodward Ave.; Mondays at the Sorauren Farmer’s Market, 50 Wabash Ave.
These Ice Pops are amazing! If you haven’t made it out to one of the markets where Augie’s sets up shop – do it this weekend! Don’t miss out on summer’s coolest treat.
I bought these at Le Dolci on Dundas (across from Trinity Bellwoods) and they were so refreshing after a day in the park!
Augie’s ice pops are so refreshing and the flavour is super concentrated and not watered down at all. Can’t wait to try all the flavours this summer!