Found Treasure: Veg on the Edge Loaded Cassava Fries

February 7, 2025 – Where do you get your story ideas?

The EMB congregation hits me with that question every once in a while. This time it came from Seaside High School students for whom I guest lectured last month. (Spartans, thanks for having me. But go ‘Dores.)

The three-word answer: Anywhere I can. 

A longer answer: Many of the best stories come while reporting other stories, and rarely while sitting at a desk.

An additional answer: By asking around. 

In this case, I was sipping a Discretion sour at Front & Cooper in Abbott Square, waiting for the Highway 17 Express to San Jose. 

There I employed strategy #3, which also works while sitting in the barber’s chair, on a ski lift, or on the handy 17 Express itself: I asked someone with localized knowledge where they like to eat. 

That’s one of my favorite things about the food beat. Not everyone votes, or follows sports, or finds science or history or travel all that interesting. 

But everybody eats. And they usually have a recommendation.

I wasn’t necessarily on the hunt for a story idea. More than anything, I was genuinely curious how someone who works in a foodie hub like Abbott Square handles all the options. 

Within a few steps awaits a catalog of worthy candidates, including but not limited to Belly Goat Burgers (one Cowboy with bacon jam and onion hay please), Pana Venezuelan Food (arepas son riquisimas), Pizzeria La Bufala (a roasted shishito Piperina, anyone?), Daisuki Octagon Sushi (I could eat sashimi daily) and Flashbird Chicken (where brined and fried chicken is an art form).

The friendly barkeep’s answer was surprising but sensical: loaded cassava fries at Veg on the Edge. They aren’t too spendy or heavy, he added, and they function as a full meal.

A vegetarian stronghold in a vegetarian-leaning city, VOTE has long earned my affection for accomplished plant-driven dishes like barbecued jackfruit burgers, marinated tofu wraps and peppered plantains. 

But I hadn’t messed with the more West African-leaning offerings, like the fries. Or spent much thought on cassava, which basic research reveals is drought-resistant and low-maintenance, thriving in conditions where other crops may fail, and serves as a staple for over half a billion people worldwide, contributing to carbon sequestration and improved soil quality along the way.

Better yet, the fries deliver on the recommendation, piled with chopped red bell pepper, yellow onion, black beans and optional additions like shiitake or Beyond Steak crumbles, all accompanied by a choice of two tasty sauces. (I went vegan mayo and Sriracha maple.)

The pro tip there: Bring a reusable utensil to chop the fries in half so you can properly maximize toppings to balance each bite of airy, starchy root.

“You basically build your own!” says owner Akindele Bankole, who describes cassava as a cross between potato and sweet potato, and recommends the pumpkin seed sauce. “Cassava is very West African. I like it because it’s really sturdy—you have a few of them and you feel very satiated.”

Manager Jonah Breckler tells me the pumpkin seed stew over brown rice (or obe egusi) ranks as a best seller, and the ashake hot pepper soup (obe ata) lays down a spiciness that proves too much for many. Both honor Bankole’s Nigerian heritage.

I tried a taster of both. The pumpkin pops with freshness and texture, and the clearer pepper broth reveals a notable depth of flavor and heat that definitely would be a lot without the brown rice base. 

And while those were each outstanding, a third soup, their peanut stew (obe epa) with flavor layers of collard greens and sweet potato, took the gold medal of the three.

For good measure I went back to try a shiitake mushroom suya wrap, learning “suya” is typically a Nigerian spiced-and-skewered meat. The wrap looks simple and dry to the eye, but hits the tastebuds with engaging depth, moisture and balance, boosted by a tomato-based and nutmeg-spiced jollof sauce. 

Like a lot of the Nigerian flavors on the board, it carries some heat, plus a nice medley of roasted shiitake, sweet potato, jollof rice and sweet bell pepper cubed small.  

Another victory for Veg, and Found Treasure for the team.

Speaking of Treasures, the hunt continues, starring another story-seeking approach worth mentioning: your tips.

There are very few of them too obscure or adventurous for me to investigate.

I welcome any and all via mark@ediblemontereybay.com or @MontereyMCA on Instagram.

More at vegontheedge.com.