REVIEW: Medina Oven & Bar is a winner n Victory Park

For the follower of dining trends, Moroccan food ranks pretty high on the scale. The new Medina Oven & Bar, in Dallas' white-hot Victory Park development, is the closest place to Tarrant County to sample the seductive flavors of Morocco, and it is worth every mile of the drive.

It's a small place, actually, and quite stylish in effect.

The decor -- fanciful ironwork, metalwork lanterns, Moroccan textiles -- speaks softly rather than shouting of Morocco. From banquettes covered in Moroccan fabrics, diners can glance over a small bar to the open kitchen, whose centerpiece is an open wall oven that turns out pizzas and a shrimp calzone whose filling involves ricotta, mozzarella, preserved lemon, roasted red onion and preserved red olives ($12).

And though the food is not meant to be authentic in detail, it is authentic at heart.

Sam Benoikken, with a lengthy résumé in Dallas' fine-dining restaurants, had always wanted to introduce North Texas to the flavors of his native Morocco. Yaser Khalaf had opened four L.A. Gourmet Pizzas in Kentucky and one in Dallas, and he was looking to open a pizzeria in Victory Park. Merging their visions, they partnered to open Medina, using Benoikken's family recipes as a starting point for what they call "Moroccan-Mediterranean cuisine."

Take the za'atar-grilled lamb chops ($20): Though served in a sleek white ceramic tagine -- the conical utensil used to cook and serve Morocco's complexly spiced, long-simmered stews -- this is clearly not a traditional lamb tagine. Our trio of pudgy little double chops had been cooked just long enough to crisp up on the edges, gloriously gamy and retaining all their juice.

Not one but two spice mixes are involved in the lamb chops: za'atar, a blend of tart sumac, sesame and thyme, and ras al hanout, used in a sparely applied vinaigrette reduction sauce. Putting the dish over the top were the accompanying "flat potatoes," tender-textured rounds of potato sandwiched with creamy, melty goat cheese.

If you consider assembling a meal from the appetizer side of the menu, order the "mixed platter to share" ($16).

This brings you small dishes of smooth hummus, a chopped smoked-eggplant spread and a vividly flavored melange of roasted green peppers and tomato with ginger and lemon. There's a smaller dish of coral-hued harissa aioli, spiked with cayenne and paprika, for which the restaurant could probably charge whatever it wanted once you've had a bite of it. The stylish presentation is rounded out with a dish of equally addictive herbed olives and small triangles of warm pita.

The "oven crisp phyllos" turn out to be egg-roll-shaped, the flaky-crisp pastry enclosing fillings such as baby spinach teased with the haunting flavor of preserved lemon ($7). The skewers are equally tempting, especially the fat rounds of merguez sausage ($8), fairly exploding with such a bouquet of lamb that you expect to feel it seeping out of your pores the next day.

We'll definitely be returning to Medina, especially when the Moroccan tent is installed over the patio. The tent will double Medina's capacity and should provide a spectacular spot to linger over an aromatic Moroccan coffee and a cool trio of mint, cinnamon and raisin ice creams.

Medina Oven & Bar

2304 Victory Park Lane

Dallas

214-979-0003; www.medinadallas.com

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, noon-11 p.m. Saturday, noon-10 p.m. Sunday

Cuisine: Moroccan-Mediterranean

Essentials: Major credit cards; full bar; smoke-free; wheelchair-accessible; reservations accepted (suggested on Fridays and Saturdays)

Cost: Entrees $18-$23, pizzas $11-$13, appetizers $3.50-$9

Signature dish: Beef tenderloin tagine with almonds, poached prunes, sesame, flat potatoes and a honey-ginger-saffron glaze

Recommended for: Anyone seeking a dining experience you can't get in Fort Worth

Good to know: You can order from the wine list or bring your own wine for a $15 corkage fee. The restaurant is between Victory Avenue and Houston Street, just north of Lamar, with valet parking on Lamar ($3 lunch, $8 dinner). One hour's parking is free on the street or in the garage across the street.