Dash Kitchen
236 Danforth Avenue
416-463-DASH

What’s sexier than a man who can cook? How about three men who can cook. Dan Thompson, Bernie MacMillan and André Wikkerink will heat up any kitchen, but it’s not just the eye candy that keeps me going back to Dash; the fresh and delicious gourmet food is also quite fetching.

Four years ago, these ex-execs were looking for a career change. “Maybe we were each having a mini mid-life crisis,” laughs Thompson. Coming from the corporate world, these guys know what it’s like to work all day, hit the gym and rush home to whip together a quick meal. “Dash is for people who appreciate what they eat, but don’t have the time or desire to prepare meals,” Thompson explains.

“We’re like your mother’s kitchen,” continues Thompson. “You walk in and wonder, ‘What’s for dinner?’” With the exception of a few fixed dishes the regulars insist on - like the extra velvety mac and cheese topped with toasted bread crumbs, the traditional mini-meatloaf with a slight kick or the always perfectly cooked maple glazed salmon - the menu changes with the seasons. “We have more slow-cooking in the winter and more salads in the summer and we try to use the best ingredients available at the time,” says Thompson.

Customers can drop into Dash to pick up their made-from-scratch appetizer, main, side, dessert or all of the above, for less than it costs to order-in or go out. The flakey cod cakes with a tangy dipping sauce or the hand-braided cilantro corn empanadas are an ideal starter. If there is chicken at home but no complement, the Santa Fe avocado salad in lime vinaigrette with a punch of rosemary goes well. Perhaps the aromatic five-spice sweet potatoes? Or maybe mango couscous salad with a touch of curry and sweet currants? For dessert, how about sweet cupcakes smothered in butter cream or tender Challah bread pudding with a creamy custard-like foundation?

The fridge is stocked with sandwiches made with Fred’s Breads and the shelves are dressed with Brickstone, Garlic Box, Stonewall and Rootham products, to name a few.

Rapid growth has led to the expansion of the Dash family. New manager Edi Chungandro, of Le Gourmand, plans to make it easier for people to order by creating catering menus and updating the website, which still reads “Full site coming in 2006.” As most men should know, this troika understands nothing runs smoothly without a woman on hand, which is, I’m sure, why the lovely and inspired Sue Ellen Metcalfe has joined their kitchen.

One of the kitchen’s most popular desserts, the Hello Linda square, is named after Dash’s first regular customer - maybe now they’ll name something after me!