# Starbucks Sandwich Meme (The Braised Short Rib Mystery Meat Jokes) > Sautéed moth lips, anyone? Updated Nov 12, 2026 · first seen Nov 2026 · on TikTok, X, Reddit. Where it is in its life: For You (rising). Rising: the best time to post it. Also called: starbucks short rib sandwich meme, starbucks braised short rib grilled cheese meme, boiled uncle starbucks, babadook hip, starbucks mystery meat, starbucks sandwich mystery meat. Page: https://viralmeme.ai/meme/starbucks-sandwich-meme ## TL;DR The Starbucks sandwich meme is a wave of jokes about the Braised Short Rib Grilled Cheese on Starbucks' 2026 holiday menu, a roughly $9 sandwich whose thin, grey-looking filling people online started renaming with absurd body parts, from "Babadook hip" to "sautéed moth lips." It took off on TikTok, X and Reddit from November 8, and The Takeout (November 10) and BuzzFeed (November 11) rounded up the reactions. [Create your version — open the maker](https://viralmeme.ai/meme-maker/starbucks-sandwich-meme) ## What does Starbucks Sandwich Meme (The Braised Short Rib Mystery Meat Jokes) mean? The Starbucks sandwich meme is a naming game. Starbucks describes the sandwich as a grilled cheese with caramelized onion jam, Dijon and braised short rib, The Takeout reported. Photos posted by customers showed a thin layer of filling that many people felt did not look like short rib at all, and the comment sections turned into a contest to name what it really was. The answers are deliberately ridiculous. BuzzFeed's Bella Arnold collected 28 of them, including "Babadook hip," "lab grown labubu meat," "anteater lymph node," "wombat spleen," "squirrel wrists," "sautéed horse gallbladder," "sautéed moth lips," "boiled owl neck" and "pulled sasquatch." The Takeout quoted others, like "Yall eating bumblebee scalp" and a Reddit joke that "Labubu meat is really hard to harvest since they are so small." Under the jokes is a real complaint about price and portion. At around $9, people expected more meat; one X user asked Starbucks whether it was "a braised short rib sandwich or a grilled cheese with meat seasoning?" The Starbucks sandwich meme turns that disappointment into a game anyone can join with one invented animal part. ## Why did Starbucks Sandwich Meme (The Braised Short Rib Mystery Meat Jokes) take off? The Starbucks sandwich meme spread because it is an open invitation. All you need is a photo of the sandwich and a funnier name for the meat than the last person's, so every post invites more. BuzzFeed's list draws mostly on two TikToks and their pile of new names. The numbers came quickly. A TikTok by @bellyondabeats, posted on November 8 and calling the filling "beetle hip and giraffe achilles," has passed 1.8 million plays, and a follow-up by @mackdixons on November 9 has passed 1.3 million. On X, a post by @peterlanee the same morning passed 260,000 views. BroBible reported that another TikTok complaining about the portion, by @liftwithlipp, reached about 488,000 views. The Starbucks sandwich meme also had a relatable villain: a new, expensive menu item that did not look like its photo. The Takeout headlined a line from TikTok user @june.ok: "I work there... it's scary to me." Google now suggests "starbucks sandwich meme," "boiled uncle starbucks" and "boiled uncle meme," after one of the most repeated nicknames. ## Where did Starbucks Sandwich Meme (The Braised Short Rib Mystery Meat Jokes) come from? Starbucks added the Braised Short Rib Grilled Cheese to its 2026 holiday menu in early November, priced at around $9 in many places, The Takeout and BuzzFeed reported. Customers posted photos of thin fillings on Reddit's r/mildlyinfuriating and r/starbucks, posts BuzzFeed later cited. The joke format arrived on November 8. That day @peterlanee joked on X about what the sandwich was "made out of," and @bellyondabeats posted a TikTok listing invented body parts, which BuzzFeed later quoted at length. @mackdixons added more the next day. On November 10, The Takeout's Lottë Reford wrote up the backlash and the jokes; on November 11, BuzzFeed published "28 comments about what the meat looks like," BroBible covered the portion complaints, and Know Your Meme added a submission for the Starbucks sandwich meme early on November 12 (UTC). - **Early Nov 2026:** The Braised Short Rib Grilled Cheese arrives on Starbucks' holiday menu at around $9. - **Nov 8, 2026:** @peterlanee on X and @bellyondabeats on TikTok start the mystery-meat nicknames; the TikTok passes 1.8 million plays. - **Nov 9, 2026:** @mackdixons adds a second list; it passes 1.3 million plays. - **Nov 10, 2026:** The Takeout writes up the backlash and the jokes. - **Nov 11, 2026:** BuzzFeed rounds up 28 nicknames; BroBible covers the portion complaints. ## Popular versions of Starbucks Sandwich Meme (The Braised Short Rib Mystery Meat Jokes) ### The nickname A photo of the sandwich and one invented, oddly specific body part. ### The list A TikTok rattling off ten mystery meats in a row. ### I work there Posts from people claiming to be baristas, scared of the sandwich. ### The portion check Opening the sandwich on camera to show how much meat is inside. ## How to post Starbucks Sandwich Meme (The Braised Short Rib Mystery Meat Jokes) on TikTok 1. Post the sandwich with your own invented mystery meat. 2. Make it absurd and specific: an animal, a body part, a cooking method. 3. Keep it about the food, not about the staff who make it. 4. Don't use Starbucks' logo as if the post were official. ## Make your own ViralMeme explains this meme: it's a clip, a sound or a phrase you post as it is, not a format you put your photo into. ## Questions about Starbucks Sandwich Meme (The Braised Short Rib Mystery Meat Jokes) ### What is the Starbucks sandwich meme? Jokes about the Braised Short Rib Grilled Cheese on Starbucks' 2026 holiday menu, where people rename its thin, grey-looking filling with absurd body parts like "Babadook hip" or "squirrel wrists." ### What does "Babadook hip" mean? It is one of the nicknames for the sandwich's meat, from a TikTok by @bellyondabeats that BuzzFeed quoted, joking that the filling looks like part of the Babadook, the monster from the 2014 horror film. ### How much is the Starbucks braised short rib sandwich? Around $9 in many places, depending on location, according to The Takeout and BuzzFeed. ### Why are people making fun of the Starbucks sandwich? Photos showed a thin layer of meat that many felt did not look like short rib for the price, so people turned the disappointment into a naming game. ### What is "boiled uncle" Starbucks? Another of the nicknames for the sandwich's filling, and one of the most searched, from the same wave of TikTok jokes. ### When did the Starbucks sandwich meme start? The nickname jokes took off on November 8, 2026, on X and TikTok, a few days after the holiday menu launched. ## Sources - [The Takeout: Starbucks Fans Are Up In Arms About The Chain's New Sandwich (Nov 10, 2026)](https://www.thetakeout.com/2312655/starbucks-fans-react-rib-sandwich-ingredients/) - [BuzzFeed: People Online Are Joking About The Starbucks Braised Short Rib Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Nov 11, 2026)](https://www.buzzfeed.com/bellaarnold/starbucks-rib-sandwich-jokes) - [BroBible: Is The New Starbucks Braised Short Rib Grilled Cheese Good? (Nov 11, 2026)](https://brobible.com/culture/article/starbucks-braised-short-rib-grilled-cheese/) - [@bellyondabeats on TikTok: beetle hip and giraffe achilles (Nov 8, 2026; checked Nov 12, 2026)](https://www.tiktok.com/@bellyondabeats/video/7705925361426566431) - [@mackdixons on TikTok (Nov 9, 2026; checked Nov 12, 2026)](https://www.tiktok.com/@mackdixons/video/7706243321533943071) ## What changed on this page - Nov 12, 2026: First published: the sandwich, the mystery-meat nicknames, the numbers and the coverage. Spotted a mistake? Use "Report a mistake" at the bottom of https://viralmeme.ai/meme/starbucks-sandwich-meme: no account or email needed, every report is checked within two days, and a fix is listed above with its date.