Foodies,
Fellow board member Jay Shampur and I dined at Sash restaurant in Toronto last evening. Chef Sash Simpson’s eponymous restaurant opened just across the way from the flagship Summerhill LCBO store, after lengthy stints carving out his skills and reputation at two landmark Toronto restaurants, North 44 and ByMark. It was our friend Japhet’s last evening there as a bartender so we ventured over to toast him away.
The evening began with a pair of cocktails. Jay had a classic Negroni, while I had one of Japhet’s original creations called the Troublemaker. Tequila, pineapple, syrup, lime, and jalapeno tincture are shaken and served over ice with dried pineapple and roasted jalapeno.
For our appetizers, Jay had the Zucchinni Flower Tempura which were stuffed with a creamy cheese and fried to perfection. I had the Burrata Salad of fresh housemade Burratta cheese with heirloom tomatoes, peaches and vinaigrette. The bread basket was served with a cultured truffle butter which was fantastic.
For our mains, Jay had the Crusted Sea Bream while I had the Lamb Tenderloin with Risotto.
On the side, we had Parmesan Truffle Fries, the best Onion Rings we’ve ever had in our lives, and Wild Garlic and Mushroom Agnolotti dressed with Parmesan, pine nuts and brown butter.
For dessert, we both had the amazing Banana Soufflé. Chef Sash came out briefly to say hello to us and told us that the dessert was “the best air that we’d ever eat.” He wasn’t kidding about that one. Fabulous execution on this one.
We ordered two wines off of the house list to go with our meals. The first was a bottle of Daubonton NV Brut. 35% each Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and 30% Chardonnay.
The second was an Elio Altare 2019 Dolcetto D’Alba. Don’t believe I’ve never had a Dolcetto before this, it’s like the love child of a Barolo and a Brunello. Lovely texture, lots of fruit, I’m not sure it has the stuffings to age well. It’s like the Italian equivalent of a Gamay-based Beaujolais.
The evening was fantastic, especially considering that many of the staff on the floor, in the kitchen and behind the bar were all very new to the game. Our thanks to chef Sash, Japhet, and all the staff at Sash. We look forward to returning and recommend it if you drop by Toronto.