Pop-Up Pick: feast on deep-fried Dutch snacks at this World Cup–watching party on Ossington

Pop-Up Pick: feast on deep-fried Dutch snacks at this World Cup–watching party on Ossington

(Image: Jesse Kinos-Goodin)

Borrel at the Ossington has achieved something fairly unique among Toronto’s culinary pop-ups: it’s introduced the city to a national cuisine that otherwise goes mostly unrepresented in the GTA. Dutch-Canadian cook Justin Go and his fiancée Alison Broverman have been serving their comforting Sunday-afternoon meals at The Ossington, the laid-back watering hole at 61 Ossington Avenue, since February. This month, they’re adding some new dates to the schedule. On June 13, 18 and 23, soccer fans can head to the bar to watch the Netherlands’ World Cup matches against Spain, Australia and Chile (respectively) while snacking on a thematically appropriate feast of frikandellen (fried-sausage sandwiches topped with curry-flavoured ketchup), bitterballen (deep-fried croquettes filled with minced meat and veggies) and poffertjes (mini pancakes with butter and icing sugar). It’s the kind of comforting, carb-heavy food that should pair well with an energetic sports-watching session. Or, for those who would prefer to sample the cuisine outside the company of tense, orange-clad Dutchmen, Borrel’s regular Sunday-afternoon sessions will also be continuing as usual.

June 13 (3 p.m.), June 18 (12 p.m.) and June 23 (12 p.m.). $6 per dish. The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave., ossingtonborrel.wordpress.com