Tik Tok on the Clok: Racing To The Restaurant Before The Internet Gets There First
*I’m using Tik Tok to stand for any short form video social media platforms in this post as I think that’s the platform most people identify with, although personally I’m mainly on Instagram Reels. But potato tomato ya know.
Recently, my sister walked past a sign with an exceedingly rare and almost mystical message written in bold chalk lettering: “Happy Hour Combo: Burger, Beer, and Fries for $12.” How could this be? Just the other night I paid 12 dollars (with tip) for one singular beer in a neighboring area of New York City, and yet this sign was promising me all that and more for the same price. We made plans to go immediately for fear that the bar would realize they had over promised, or worse, that the deal would blow up on Tik Tok.
Our plan was to go the following week but somehow it still didn’t seem soon enough. I woke up every day cautiously checking social media to make sure nobody had posted about the bar, my sister did the same. She found one Instagram story praising the newly opened bar by a trendy NYC millennial with under a little under 2,000 followers. Not enough to go viral but enough to make me sweat a bit. If she had heard, who knows how long we had before the Consuming Couple posted about this place in one of their hidden gems videos, which would no doubt be greeted with 50,000 likes and comments.
Finally the day arrived. Even as we approached the bar I was convinced it would have either evaporated into thin air or been overrun by tourists or recent college grads living in Murray Hill on their parent’s dime. Or worse, that the bar would be so overwhelmed that they would have decided to scrap the deal all together.
Thankfully that was not the case and we arrived to find the deal intact, and the bar only moderately full. We ordered our happy hour combos, the beer was a choice between Coors light and Bud Light (fair enough), and there were three options of single smash burgers to choose from. The food was delicious, which for 12 dollars it did not need to be.
The relief I felt eating my burger before Tik Tok had the chance to devour and swallow it whole was almost menacing. Since when has eating out felt so competitive? Old episodes of Sex and the City would tell us that it has always been that way. But something about this era feels different. With Tik Tok, Instagram, and other platforms, you’re acutely aware of how many people are being turned on to certain places, and it starts the clock on how long you have to patronize said places.
I find myself thanking Tik Tok and cursing it at the same time. Thank you for introducing me to a great new restaurant or happy hour deal, and curse you for telling 100,000 other people about it as well. Thank you for telling me how to save money while dining out in New York, and curse you for creating the feeling that that will no longer be an option once it catches on. It’s a double edged sword that continues to get sharper on both ends.
Tik tok can be an equalizer or an echo chamber, creating awareness about unknown or under patronized places, or reinforcing again and again what is already trendy. There is always pressure to bring something new to the table, and yet it all ends up being so much of the same. I can’t count the number of 20 dollar Chinatown food crawl videos that feature the same 3 places, each with a similar tone of “discovery” as if the creator didn’t find those places on Tik Tok to begin with. It feels as though we’re all in an endless race to “find” the next best place to eat as we Christopher Columbus every eatery in New York, and condense our bounty into a neat 45 second video.
Maybe this is coming from the part of me that grew up with 2 siblings and always felt competitive for the one bag of good chips in the pantry. Generally I was excited to have the chips, but excitement was followed by the pressure to get to them before my sister’s did, and the anxiety I felt watching them deplete so quickly.
Or maybe we are doomed to keep piling on bag after bag of desirable chips, opening more indiscriminately as the original bag turns stale behind that giant container of quaker oats nobody ever seems to use. There are always new restaurants to “discover” and new names to add to the running notes app list. There’s always a better deal, a more perfectly cooked steak, a more inventive cocktail. Tik Tok creators will continue to make new and innovative discoveries in the realm of “NYC Cheap Eats” and “Once in a Lifetime Dining Experiences.” What’s important is to stick to the NYC Cheap Eats that feel right to us.
I’ll leave you with a cheap eat that felt right to me the moment I became aware of it. An incredible Oklahoma style smash burger, superbly crisp fries, and a perfectly adequate Coors light. I’m not going to tell you where it’s from as that would be antithetical to all the preachy bullshit I've been spewing this entire time. It feels like a good time to tack on that Tik Tok and other social media platforms can be used as a means to create awareness of small or overlooked eateries and businesses, as seen on profiles such as @righteouseats. However, it is my opinion that sharing this particular establishment on my blog that maybe 20 people read would be nothing but an attempt to show you what amazing taste I have. The bar is located in an area with a lot of foot traffic, boasting delicious food and an almost unheard of bang for your buck opportunity. They will be just fine. As will you, since 5 minutes after you conclude reading this meandering blog post, you’ll find another restaurant, another deal, another once in a lifetime dining experience to capture your attention. So it goes.
Incredible Oklahoma style smash burger, superbly crisp fries, and the corner of a perfectly adequate Coors light at an undisclosed location. - March 28, 2023
.
