Introduction to Brunchaholics and the Soul Food Burrito
Jessie Washington was pushing pencils as an insurance claims representative when he had the idea to try his hand at food videos. It was 2018 and recipe videos shot overhead and set to upbeat stock music dominated the internet.
Michael Hogue
He hoped if he made some outlandish dish, maybe he could go viral and kick-start a food business. He was approaching 30 years old; if he didn’t go after his dreams of a food career now, they may never happen, he thought.
Washington came up with the idea of the soul food equivalent of a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich, but in burrito form instead. He set up a camera, laid out a tortilla and filled it with mac ‘n’ cheese, fried catfish and collard greens. He posted the video of him making the burrito on social media, and then he waited. Several days and forty likes later, his calling, he realized, was likely not in viral video content. The burrito, though, surprised him.
Brunchaholics owner Jessie Washington makes a Soul Food Burrito at his store, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in DeSoto.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
“I thought, ‘This is off the chain,’” he said. “It was really, really good.”
Eat Drink D-FW
The Creation of the Soul Food Burrito
Months later, Washington secured a regular spot as a food vendor at the Dallas Farmers Market and served up plates of chicken and waffles and shrimp and grits, but every weekend people asked if he could make that burrito he posted online. After a few weeks of requests, he decided he’d put the burrito on his menu as a limited special. He sat in his day-job cubicle watching YouTube videos on how to properly fold burritos, calculating how much of each ingredient he’d need to make a few dozen of them.
The day of the market, nearly 100 people lined up to get one of his burritos and he sold out quickly. The Soul Food Burrito became a semi-regular special at Washington’s pop-up, and it put him and his cooking on the map. Food Network dubbed it one of the most over-the-top burritos in the country in 2019, rocketing it to national fame.
Rise to Fame and the Opening of Brunchaholics
Fast forward a few years, Washington’s dreams of a food career, and internet virality, came true. Thanks, in part, to the popularity of the Soul Food Burrito, he opened a brick-and-mortar Brunchaholics in Dallas in 2022 and then relocated to DeSoto in 2023. He and his team still sling burritos, along with fish sandwiches and soul food plates. The burrito, though, is undoubtedly the most popular thing on his menu. It became even more popular when food TikToker Keith Lee tried it and shared a glowing review with his millions of followers.
Brunchaholics owner Jessie Washington makes a Soul Food Burrito at his store, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in DeSoto.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
The Soul Food Burrito: A Celebration of Family Cookouts
The Soul Food Burrito is a celebration of sort of the family cookouts that molded Washington during his childhood. He was born into a large, food-loving family with a dad who loved to grill. It made sense to create a dish
