Burger Day: How These Buns Found The Most Iconic Moments In Pop Culture

“So… what’s for lunch?” I asked my coworkers, casually scrolling through delivery apps, hoping someone would say the one word I was already craving: burger. Because let’s be honest, there’s something comfortingly universal about a burger. Whether it’s a desi-style veggie patty or a double cheeseburger with all the works, burgers have a way of satisfying both hunger and nostalgia.

Bringing Burgers To India

Growing up in India in the late ’90s and early 2000s, burgers weren’t exactly part of our everyday meals. Sure, there were the occasional roadside patties and college canteen versions served with a mystery sauce—but they didn’t quite have the glossy appeal we’d seen in American TV shows. When McDonald’s opened in India yeah before my birth, it was an experience. A weekend treat.

The McAloo Tikki burger, launched in 1998—the first made-in-India burger—was our introduction to the this fast-food life, desi-fied just enough to feel familiar, yet global enough to feel cool, yes thanks to the happy meal. Today we have multiple burger chains in India including tons of homegrown names delivering these layered meals.

Celeb Favourite Snack

And it’s not just us regular folks—burgers are a certified celeb obsession. Remember when Gigi Hadid demolished a burger on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, all glammed up and completely unapologetic? Or when brands started dropping celebrity meals—from Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack combo to BTS’s sweet chili nugget collab, proving that a burger with your name on it is the new merch drop?

Even Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, two of Hollywood’s most low-key stars, celebrated his Oscar win by sharing a plant-based burger in their Converse sneakers and tuxedo—proof that no matter how high the stakes (or the heels), burgers remain the ultimate comfort meal.

Fashion Flex

Fashion, too, has had its fun with burgers—bold, cheeky, and unapologetically playful. Moschino’s 2014 Fast Food collection, designed by Jeremy Scott, turned heads with its burger-inspired dresses, fries-as-accessories, and an entire runway that felt like a high-fashion Happy Meal. Since then, burgers have popped up in everything from graphic tees to statement bags, serving up irony and indulgence in equal measure.

 

Whether it’s Katy Perry’s Met Gala after-party look as a literal burger or quirky burger prints in streetwear, fashion’s love affair with fast food is all about mixing pop culture with pop art.

So this Burger Day, I’m celebrating the juiciest burger moments that made me laugh, drool, and occasionally gasp. Here are the buns that broke the internet and made history.

Coolest Burger Moments 

1. Pulp Fiction — The Big Kahuna Burger

Arguably the most famous burger in cinema history. Samuel L. Jackson’s “This is a tasty burger!” line, followed by that cold stare and a sip of Sprite, immortalised Big Kahuna as the gold standard of fictional fast food.

2. Bob’s Burgers

The Belcher family's burger joint is a pop culture staple. From punny burger names to Tina's deadpan delivery, Bob’s Burgers proves burgers aren’t just food—they’re family, comedy, and chaos.

3. The 'Burger Dress' – Katy Perry at the Met Gala (2019)

Camp. Couture. Condiments. Katy Perry went full burger mode at the Met Gala after-party, dressing in a bedazzled, lettuce-peeking hamburger costume complete with a toothpick hat. A surreal moment where fashion literally served fast food.

4. SpongeBob SquarePants — The Krabby Patty

Underwater burger supremacy. The Krabby Patty may be animated, but it’s inspired merch, memes, and even real-life recipes. Plankton’s relentless pursuit of the secret formula is pure pop culture gold.

6. Good Burger — “Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger!”

A ‘90s Nickelodeon fever dream that turned into a cult hit. Ed’s lovable incompetence and the film’s chaotic charm made it a burger-flipping classic.

7. How I Met Your Mother — The Quest for the Perfect Burger

Yes, I am totally craving a burger right now after hearing Marshall describe the perfect burger in 📺: How I Met Your Mother. Streaming in Australia and NZ.

Posted by Netflix on Thursday, December 10, 2020

Marshall’s obsession with that one perfect burger is peak HIMYM: funny, nostalgic, and oddly profound. Bonus points for Regis Philbin’s cameo and the slow-mo burger reveal.

8. SNL — “Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger!”

The iconic “Olympia Café” sketch starring John Belushi put fast-talking, burger-flinging diners on the map. No fries. No Pepsi. Just cheeseburger.

9. Everything Everywhere All At Once — The Hot Dog Hands Universe… Almost

Okay, not exactly burgers, but when hot dogs are fingers, you know food and film are officially inseparable. If burgers existed in that timeline, they’d be next-level weird—and we’re here for it.

No list of pop culture burger moments is complete without mentioning Tony Stark and his cheeseburgers. In the first Iron Man (2008), fresh out of captivity, Tony’s first request isn’t a press conference—it’s an American cheeseburger, specifically from Burger King. It’s a grounding, human moment for a superhero. Later, in Avengers: Endgame, that simple craving becomes a touching callback, when Tony’s daughter Morgan is told by Happy Hogan, “Your dad liked cheeseburgers.” What started as a casual line became one of the MCU’s most quietly emotional tributes.