Gen Z will always relish an opportunity to bash millennials.
In yet another trend to takedown millennials, Gen Z critics are roasting so-called “millennial burger joints.” These overpriced eateries, supposedly marketed by and for late 30-somethings, are known for a few tell-tale features: sky-high burgers, truffle fries, steel stools, exposed brick, condiments in little metal cups, menus with “shareables” and “handhelds.”
Set to the song “We Will Never Die” by comedian Kyle Gordon, which pokes fun at all things early aughts, TikTok is sharing videos of the various millennial burger joints they encounter, many of which include a catchphrase along the lines of, “Just Two Guys With a Crazy Idea.”
TikTok user Jake Continenza hopped on the trend while dining at Burger Press in Edina, Minnesota. The video with 8.1 million views is captioned, “Why are they all the same,” followed by the sobbing emoji.
The video shows him walking to the burger joint, ordering his meal on a touchscreen menu, paying his $20 bill and eating inside. The text on the screen read, “Two best buds from college with a ‘crazy’ dream ahh burger joint.”
“I actually found out that burger [spot] and then the restaurant next to it next to is like a shawarma place and they’re actually owned by like immigrant from Cairo, Egypt,” Continenza told TODAY.com.
“I didn’t say anything bad about the restaurant. Like the food was good,” he clarified. “I would never like go to any small business and take a shot at them or said food. I was like, this mostly about the trend.”
Reddit users have adapted the inside joke into the “starter packs” meme format, “Millennial burger place starterpacks,” creating the ultimate over-stuffed burger with images of avocado, egg, toothpicks, price tags and string lights for that upmarket ambiance.
“Served on a metal cookie sheet or a wood cutting board. Secret sauce that’s mayo, ketchup, pickle brine & thousand island. Flagship burger is called the ‘Works’ or the ‘OG.’ A dozen hand-cut fries are served in a metal cup and cost $7 a la carte,” one user described.
“They’re often something like fried in beef tallow or duck fat. Sprinkled with parsley or truffle seasoning and dubbed as a ‘game changer.’ A unique topping such as bacon jam.”
“The chef didn’t ‘make’ the burger. He ‘crafted’ it,” another quipped.
“You want me to order at the counter and pay on an iPad but tip you 20% before even receiving the already overpriced food?” someone complained about these joints.
“Yeah they always went for that kinda old fashioned but also modern and minimalist hipster vibe. Idk can’t explain it. These kind of places seem a bit pretentious to me but it’s nice either way,” another said.
“Trust me even millennials hated all these places by like 2017 but people just kept on making them,” one chimed in.
“I feel like I’m having a fever dream because of how much of a strange hyper-specific thing this is to rag on, but they aren’t wrong. It is a funny thing to make fun of,” a user shared.
“Don’t blame this one on Millennials, Five Guys and Steak N Shake started this nonsense,” someone pointed out.
Even though everyone seems to be mocking these burger joints, Continenza admitted that they must be doing something right because people keep coming back.
“I mean, it must work because a bunch of them are popping up and they seem to be doing well, so I mean, they probably know something we don’t,” he said.