Tag: Seven Lives

Stellar Sandwiches at Sleepy Pete’s

Published on by Michael Nusair1 Comment

Sleepy Pete's
Location: 69 Kensington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/sleepypetes/

I’ve noticed Sleepy Pete’s coming up in discussions of the best breakfast sandwich in the GTA; it’s also from the same people behind the great Kensington Market taco joint, Seven Lives.  Obviously, I had to check it out.

Sleepy Pete's

So did a lot of other people, apparently.  I showed up at around 11:00 on a Saturday morning and the place was packed.  It was about a half hour between the time I showed up and the time I started eating, but you know what?  Totally worth it.

Sleepy Pete's

I tried a couple of the sandwiches: the sausage and egg (“chicken sausage, hot honey, Kraft cheese”) and the fried chicken (“breaded chicken breast, hot lemon pepper sauce, mayo, pickles”).  The sandwiches come on your choice of biscuit: buttermilk or jalapeno cheddar.  I went with buttermilk on the breakfast sandwich and jalapeno cheddar on the fried chicken.

Sleepy Pete's

Both sandwiches were very, very good.  This place is mostly known for its breakfast sandwiches, and yeah, I get it.  Every element here is dead-on; in particular, the spicing in the meat is actually quite different from your standard breakfast sausage, but it really works.  And the biscuit is pretty much perfect, with a great fluffy texture, just the right amount of density, and a lightly crispy exterior.

Sleepy Pete's

I’ve mentioned before that my secret food shame is that I think a McMuffin from McDonald’s is better than like 90% of the fancy breakfast sandwiches in the GTA.  This is in the 10%.  It’s so great.

Sleepy Pete's

The fried chicken didn’t knock my socks off like the sausage and egg, but it’s still a very good sandwich.  I don’t think there were any pickles (at least not in my half of the sandwich), which would have been nice, but the combo of the savoury fried chicken and the sweet lemon pepper sauce was a tasty one.  The chicken had a layer of crispy breading that’s lighter than most of the fried chicken sandwiches in the city, but that works quite well.  I enjoyed it.

Great Fish Tacos at Seven Lives

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Seven LivesLocation: 69 Kensington Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://sevenlives.restaurantsnapshot.com/

Seven Lives serves what is frequently called the best fish taco in the city, which makes deciding what to order there quite easy.  It’s the fish taco.  It’s gotta be the fish taco.

I’ve actually been wanting to try this place for quite a while, but it’s popular; the place routinely has a line-up going out the door, and it’s a tiny restaurant.  If you don’t get a seat on one of the two benches out front, or at the one table inside, you’re out of luck.  You’ll just have to eat and walk, which is a bit of a challenge with their generously-stuffed tacos.

Seven Lives

It’s worth the wait and the hassle.  It is as advertised: it’s clearly one of the best fish tacos in the city, if not the best.

It consists of a very generous piece of fried haddock topped with cabbage, pico de gallo, and a garlicky sauce.  Everything works really well together.  The fish, in particular, is delicious; it’s super tender and flaky with a very satisfying crispy exterior that never overwhelms the fish itself.

Seven Lives

The toppings are great — the cabbage and the pico de gallo add some nice freshness and crunch (not to mention an acidity that helps cut through the fried fish), and the creamy sauce brings a nice garlicky bite.

My only real issue here are the two corn tortillas, which were a bit stale (corn tortillas are one of those things that pretty much have to be consumed within minutes rather than hours of being cooked — they get stale fast).  But that’s a minor complaint for an otherwise superlative taco.