Brisket Baddies started exactly how a lot of good ideas start.

Randomly.

It was 2024, and the plan was simple. Drive from LA to Palm Springs, head into the desert for Coachella weekend, set up as vendors, and hope we sell some brisket.

We showed up in denim shorts and cowboy boots with a sandwich we knew would get attention, and a name people could not ignore.

We smoked the brisket ourselves before heading out. We made the BBQ sauce ourselves too, and honestly, that sauce was the star before we even knew what Brisket Baddies was going to become.

We loaded everything up, drove out to the desert, and set up shop.

The name did what it was supposed to do immediately.

People would hear “Brisket Baddies,” laugh, and then tell their friends about it. It stuck in people’s heads before they had even tried the food.

That was the first sign. Then they tried the food.

People would take a bite, stop for a second, and then immediately start telling someone else to come try it.

Before long, people were lining up because someone had sent them over. There was this fun, slightly chaotic energy around the whole thing. It felt like something was happening, even though we had not really figured out what it was yet.

And then we sold out. Just like that.

We made some money, had a great weekend, and proved that people actually wanted what we were making.

Then we stopped.

Not because it was not working.

Honestly, it was better than we expected.

The problem was that we had the excitement, the name, the sauce, and the attention, but we did not really have a plan for what came next.

Life moved on. The group eventually went in different directions.

But Brisket Baddies never completely left.

Some ideas are fun for a moment and then fade away. This was not one of those ideas.

The name still felt right, but the story still felt unfinished.

And over time, something else started to change too.

The way I thought about food.

I still loved BBQ. I still loved meals that felt fun. But I also started paying more attention to how food made me feel afterward.

That is really where the plant-based version of Brisket Baddies began.

Instead of beef brisket, we started working with king oyster mushrooms. They are pulled for texture, covered in homemade cherry chipotle BBQ sauce, and built to give you that same smoky, messy, satisfying bite that made people fall in love with the original sandwich.

The goal was never to become some super serious wellness brand.

That is not us.

It is still BBQ. It is still saucy. It is still the kind of food you want to eat outside with a cold lemonade while hanging out with friends.

But food is wellness. Even when it is fun. Even when it is messy. Even when it comes with sauce dripping down your hand.

Food is how people connect. It is how they remember a place, a moment, or a really good day.

When I think back on Brisket Baddies, I think about that parking lot in the desert. People trying the sandwich and coming back with their friends.

That is where all of this started.

Three cousins, cowboy boots, homemade BBQ sauce, and a name people could not stop saying.

Now the Baddies are back. The food is plant-based. And the sauce is still good.