International Burger Day is just around the corner and Madi, a 2-year-old brunch-centric restaurant in Normal Heights, has introduced a new burger its owners hope will be a big draw for diners on that beefy culinary holiday May 28.
The Oklahoma Onion Smash Burger, introduced last month as part of a spring menu expansion, is an homage to the griddle-fried, onion-topped sandwiches that burger historian George Motz has celebrated in his books, film and Travel Channel series.
So what’s an Oklahoma onion burger? The stories vary, but legend has it that the owner of a roadside diner in El Reno, Oklahoma, added chopped onions to his hamburger meat in the 1920s, either to enhance flavor or reduce his beef costs.
In the years since, restaurants all over Oklahoma have developed their own onion burgers. But the one that Motz loves most is at 55-year-old Sid’s Diner in El Reno, where mandolin-sliced onions are smash-fried on a pork salt-sprinkled griddle with a burger patty on top so that both the onions and burger acquire the same crispy texture and charred flavor as they cook.
Madi’s Oklahoma Onion Smash Burger — which comes with American cheese and house sauce on a brioche bun with French fries and pickles for $18 — has its own recipe and cooking technique, but it’s a secret.
Matthew Sieve, who co-owns Madi with business partner Jeffrey Fink, said he thinks Madi’s new burger is not only unique in San Diego, but it can also hold its own against the city’s better-known “best burger” honorees, including Hayes Burger, Rocky’s Crown Pub, Hodad’s and The Balboa.
While Oklahoma onion burgers aren’t as well known in San Diego, they’re a cultural touchstone in the Midwest, where Sieve’s family has run restaurants for more than 100 years in Minnesota. (Madi’s pancakes are made with a 60-year-old Sieve family recipe.)
The Oklahoma onion burger is just one of several new lunch items that have been added to the menu this spring. Sieve said the goal with the new items was to introduce some fresh takes on classic diner/deli menu items.
Rather than traditional soup, a new posole dish has been added. It’s a rich and traditional Mexican stew served with chicken, hominy and a side of tortillas, red onions, cabbage, radishes and lime.
Other items introduced either this spring or since Madi opened in August 2022 are a classic egg salad sandwich on white bread, a club sandwich served on grilled rosemary-olive bread, a wedge salad with Cotija ranch dressing, Greek fries and a fried fish sandwich.
Since Madi opened, the drinks menu has also expanded. Its mimosa, Motor Bike, Paloma and Bloody Mary cocktails have been joined by a tiramisu espresso martini, and an ube cold foam matcha drink is now available among the non-alcoholic brunch drinks menu.
Madi got its name from its bigger sister restaurant, Madison on Park, which opened in University Heights at the end of 2015. Madi seats 60 indoors and 30 on its side patio.
For fans of Madi’s original menu, all the top-selling dishes are still being served, including the G.O.A.T. breakfast sandwich, build-your-own breakfast bowls, waffle churro sticks, blackberry and goat cheese pancakes, chilaquiles, a Mediterranean breakfast plate and white bean shakshouka.
Madi
Hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
Where: 3737 Adams Ave., San Diego
Online: brunchlikemadi.com
