Eating vegan is great and all, but where’s the flavor? Lots of folks find it hard to let go of meat and dairy—or, rather, their taste buds find it hard. Since she opened Vu Noodles in 2013, Julie Whitaker has been trying to make it easier. Her Vietnamese noodle shop, serving almost totally vegan meals, earns points for hearty flavor, and that makes it a favorite among eaters of all stripes.
Whitaker—Vu is her maiden name—isn’t vegan herself, but she’s always gravitated toward noodles and veggies more than meat. “I don’t eat beef or pork,” she says. “Looking at the future and how we eat is really important.” She and her husband Todd Whitaker started cooking vegan Vietnamese food in a grab-and-go format for Whole Foods and other stores, moved through a couple of retail spots, and finally landed, last May, in their current place on Water Street, right behind the Jefferson Theater.
As a Vietnamese-American kid, Whitaker always got most excited about noodle night at home—hence the glorious profusion of noodles on her menu. The vegan pho wins raves for good reason: The mushroom-based broth rivals any beef stock. “For a couple of years I was working on that recipe,” Whitaker says. “I feel like I got it down.” Folks also line up for the noodle bowl with tofu and caramelized onion. Even the crispy rolls have noodles inside.
The only non-vegan item on the menu: fish sauce. “I grew up with that,” Whitaker says. “I can’t let that go.”