Healthy vegan Santa Cruz

Healthy Vegan Santa Cruz! Veg On The Edge comes to the vegan gluten free rescue.

To those who followed A Vegan Obsession way back when..hey, hello..It’s my return blog post. Two years have flown by. I return with Healthy Vegan Santa Cruz.

If you are new..hey, hello, to you, too.

A lot happened in two years. I married an American…the handsome Mr Devin O’Neill. And I moved my vegan self to the good ole US of A. Yep, that happened.

I’m a two-year-old in America, and sometimes it feels like it. So much to learn.

We moved to Ojai first, a sweet beautiful mountain town in SoCal and Los Angeles was my vegan mecca. Then we moved to Santa Cruz..a surfing, University town, you’d think would be bursting at the seams with amazing vegan food..right?! wrong. Where was the healthy vegan Santa Cruz contingent? I was disheartened. I couldn’t blog about yummy healthy vegan food because my husband and I didn’t really find any. Until now…

A week or so ago we were out walking in downtown and stumbled across Abbots Square Market. A host of eateries and a bar next to the MAH. Guess what we found?! ..A VEGAN fast food joint. Gluten-free, too! Oh, my heart went thumpity thump when we found it. Veg On The Edge. Healthy vegan Santa Cruz.

It’s the brainchild of Akindale, an ex-opera singing Nigerian. Owned by 5 partners in total, including his son, Deji. Deji left the world of film production behind in Los Angeles to come up to Santa Cruz and join his father in creating Santa Cruz’s ONLY vegan and gluten-free fast food restaurant.

His Dad turned vegan 2 years ago. He changed his diet for compassionate reasons, to be part of the end of suffering of animals. Deji is a recent convert. He converted because of health.

It took a couple of years to perfect the recipes. Akindale, who also has a background in catering, got together with a local chef to create and perfect a menu of amazing West African inspired food.

Healthy vegan Santa Cruz. Veg On The Edge Vegan and Gluten Free Food

Moin moin is soaked black eye peas, tomato paste, and spices that are blended together to make a kind of tofu. It is silky, gently spiced and slightly tangy. The flavor is quite unique.

Sweet potato and spicy peanut soup.

Potato balls took months to perfect just the right chickpea consistency. Oh my gosh, I’d eat these three times a day if I could. They were almost cheesy. Delicious.

Veg On The Edge Vegan and Gluten Free Food

3 years from inception to completion.

We (my husband and I) chatted with Deji and Akindele Bankole for some time. They are extremely passionate about what they have created here. They want to change the world, draw in more compassion by inviting people to dinner. Don’t you love that?!

Deji Bankole

They are open weekdays - 11am - 9pm

Weekends they serve breakfast - Plantain waffles and tofu scramble wrap. Sign me up!!

Out of all the items on the menu, the Suya burger is currently the most popular. Marinated shitake forms the ‘meat’. Cashew cheese and tomatoes and onions highlight the flavors. A toasted gluten-free bun houses the melee.

I asked them what their vision is for the future. They aim to open up 10 more restaurants by 2027. Concentrating in the Bay Area first and then set their sights on Los Angeles.

If you are in the area..I highly recommend a visit.

It’s vegan time!