Many things are considered distinctly millennial: a man bun, avocado toast, axe-throwing bars. Now you can apparently add millennial burger joints to that list.
On February 11, TikToker fairylights2007 shared a clip using Kyle Gordon’s “2011 Millennial” parody song, along with a caption that read: “This song is so truffle fries overpriced burger brick walls metal tin of ketchup.”
You know the type. As the video points out, the burgers are typically overpriced—$19 to be exact—always with a brioche bun. Fries are extra and come served in a fryer basket with a special “house sauce” (i.e., ketchup mixed with mayo). Somewhere in the restaurant, a chalkboard lists “local” IPA beers. The menu includes sections like “handhelds” and “sweet treats.” The decor? Exposed piping, string lights, and Edison bulbs.
Commenters on the video were quick to point out other telltale signs of millennial burger joints. “A pbj burger on the menu,” one wrote. “Games no one has ever played but every bar has,” suggested another. Chances are, you’ve frequented one of these places at least once—whether you wanted to or not.
Gordon’s song has since become the soundtrack to a number of TikTok videos jumping on the trend. “YES we’re a millennial burger joint; YES we overprice everything; YES our truffle fries are mediocre at best; YES we’re two guys with a crazy idea; NO we don’t offer comfortable seating; YES we serve water in mason jars,” one post read. “It was about time all these burger places with the same aesthetic get called out,” another creator added.
These burger joints became popular in the mid-to-late 2010s, right around the time millennials were launching their first businesses. But now they’ve become prime targets for the online generation, who love to poke fun at millennials for everything from their “cringe” humor to their love of Harry Potter.
And yet, for all the mockery, these places aren’t going anywhere. The “millennial burger joint” may now be shorthand for a style-over-substance hipster eatery, but I, for one, will be enjoying my basket of mediocre truffle fries with garlic aioli. So sue me.
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