Seattle has a history of embracing plant-based eating and dining long before it became mainstream. However, the city's most lauded vegan restaurants are clustered in central neighborhoods, like Capitol Hill or Ballard, leaving those in South Seattle with fewer choices. Moe Vegan — a restaurant that evolved from a food truck and catering business — recently opened in Kent to fill that void.
From the moment I heard about Moe Vegan, I was intrigued. Soul Food is defined by not only its spice profile but also its link to African American history, so a vegan soul food restaurant proposes an interesting challenge: capturing the essence of tradition without traditional ingredients like butter or pork.
Moe Vegan isn't the first to attempt this melding, with the growing numbers of Black vegans driving an effort to bring cultural authenticity to plant-based dining. Tacoma's Quickie Too has served up vegan comfort food since the 1990s. Chef Makini Howell of Capitol Hill's Plum Bistro was included in a New York Times article as one of the "16 Black Chefs Changing Food in America," though she recently announced her plans to close Plum after 20 years. Her next move is launching a tofu company offering a spiced plant protein that's ready to go.
Soul food's depth of flavor comes from ingredients like butter cooked to make roux or slow-cooked meats used to add flavor. Many of these ingredients, such as rice, okra, and millet, were brought to the states by enslaved African women who braided the seeds into their hair to avoid starvation if captured. The link to the shared history of those in the African diaspora, as well as the difficulty of creating food flavored with animal products out of entirely plant-based ingredients, makes vegan soul food a challenge. I was ready to see if Moe Vegan could deliver on flavor and authenticity.
Walking into the new restaurant, which is currently open from 12 to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, I was immediately struck by the laid-back but bright atmosphere. Painted in Seahawks green with a mural of the Seattle skyline providing shade over the windows, the small shopping center storefront has obviously been designed to maximize space.
A self-service kiosk takes orders while staff, many of them owner Keenan Hart's family members, prepare the food. They greet customers scrolling through the menu items, letting them know they are available for any questions. R&B music plays over the speakers as two TVs are tuned into sports stations. "Moe Vegan, Vegan Crack," in neon, decorates the counter, as a roped-off and curtained section to the right serves as a High Roller VIP Lounge, complete with pool table, to those who want to book the space for events and parties. The new location gives off a restaurant-meets-lounge vibe.
As someone who grew up on Soul Food but isn't vegan, I was interested in seeing how their dishes serve up the comfort the cuisine is known for. As a meat eater, I was also curious whether the absence of staples like butter, pork, and seafood would impact the dishes. The layered flavors of soul food speak to the history and tradition of those who carried it with them from one home to another, from one generation to the next.
The restaurant menu takes an innovative approach by rotating monthly. This month's offerings include a variety of Beyond Burgers, like the Island Pineapple Gourmet and the Shroom N Garlic Gourmet Beef Burger; Gourmet Cajun Spicy Fries; and soul food favorites, like its Southern Famous Cajun Gumbo.
After ordering a Savory Bleu Cheez & Parm Gourmet Beef Burger, Gourmet Fries with Truffle & Parmesan, and a bowl of gumbo, I spoke with a couple of customers who were waiting on their order. They live in Burien and come to Moe Vegan on Saturdays after taking their dog to a nearby dog park. They chatted about how since they turned vegan in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have been customers coming to the food truck and eagerly awaiting the opening of the restaurant, providing a place where all menu items fit their dietary choices. Jokingly, they shared that their favorite Moe Vegan dish is crispy mushrooms, which they have only had once and thought were so good they have been waiting for the dish's return.
Food worth returning for is exactly what I hoped to get as I opened my brown paper sack. The burger, which contained a barbecued "beef" Beyond patty, seasoned shredded cabbage, vegan bleu cheese and parm crumbles, sweet mini peppers, cilantro, vegan mozzarella cheese, mesquite sauce, vegan crack sauce, and herbs and spices on a toasted brioche bun, was hefty. The sauce-to-everything-else ratio was perfect, with the cheese blending quite well with the other components. The layering of this burger really brings the depth of flavor you think of when it comes to soul food, though burgers aren't traditionally part of the cuisine. But what makes the burgers here soulful are the spices, mixing into the crispness of the shredded cabbage, the patty itself, and the sauces. You can tell it was crafted with a desire to be on par with gourmet burgers sold at upscale restaurants, but this time, your best barbecuing uncle was the chef. While I found the fries a little lacking, it was mainly due to under-salting, an issue that's easily remedied.
What truly stood out to me, though, was the gumbo, which felt and tasted like the rich complexity of flavors when chicken, sausage, and seafood are mixed together with okra and other vegetables. The gumbo is meaty without having any animal products and has the earthiness that makes gumbo a dish that highlights how ingredients from the land and sea meld together in a pot. Served with white rice, the portion size is large, making it a hearty stew perfect for this time of year.
Hart adopted a plant-based lifestyle in 2019 after witnessing a relative, Moe, die of health problems. Hart, who grew up in South Seattle, learned to fashion good food from very few resources. He took this experience and used it as inspiration for his diet change, crafting flavorful vegan dishes.
By the end of 2019, Hart had opened a food truck named after Moe. The grand opening celebration, held in the parking lot of Kush 21 in Burien, sold out quickly. And over the next few years, the food truck became a community staple, or, as Hart says, "Moe Vegan is a healthy lifestyle movement."
That movement has stayed true to soul food's history as the food truck made sure to be front and center for community events, like offering free meals for the Rainier Beach Senior Night football game or the annual MLK Jr. Day March held at Garfield High School. Moe Vegan's commitment to community runs deep. The entire operation is a family-owned business that has grown from its humble food truck beginnings to serving food for celebrities, like vegan popstar Mýa.
On Dec. 7, 2024, a few months after its fifth anniversary, Moe Vegan expanded its offerings from a food truck and catering business to a brick and mortar located at 23325 Pacific Hwy S. in Kent.
The new Moe Vegan restaurant is not only filling a void for vegan soul food in the South Seattle area, but with its rotating menu and laid-back atmosphere, it's also providing customers, meat eaters or not, a reason to keep coming back for flavor. I will be keeping my eye out for when its Southern baked mac and "cheese," a dish that James Hemings, Thomas Jefferson's enslaved, French-trained chef and Sally Hemings' brother, introduced to America.
At a time when many small businesses are closing, having barely made it through the pandemic, it's nice to see a new Black-owned, family-run South Seattle restaurant serving a classic cuisine in a way that feels fresh, while staying true to the rich heritage and taste that defines soul food.
Follow Moe Vegan's Instagram account for news on menu drops and more.
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