Medina Oven & Bar

I went to go see my first ever hockey game Saturday night! It was the last game for the Dallas Stars and they were playing against the Detroit Red Wings at the American Airlines Center. I'm not a big hockey fan (obviously.. haha) but I really just wanted to see a fight! And this would've been a good game for that. So we lost... 3 to 0, but I got to see one fight AND got to try a new restaurant after for dinner! All in all a successful outing! hehehe. :P 

We decided to check out Medina Oven & Bar, which features Moroccan and Mediterranean cuisine. It's just a short walk from the AAC and across Victory Park. It's a little hidden... You need to walk past Neo Pizza and it's in the next corner. 

Medina Oven & Bar 
2304 Victory Park Ln. 
Dallas, TX 75219 
(214) 979-0003 
http://www.medinadallas.com 
Price: $$$ 

It's a cute little place. The inside seating is about as big as the patio seating out front. The decor is Moroccan and intimate with low lighting and cool lamps. You can see into the front of the kitchen and the oven. I thought that was pretty cool. 

We were seated immediately, it wasn't very full at all. It took a while for us to get waters and menus but after that the service was great. The menu looked interesting and delicious, there were a ton of options I chose from. At the bottom of the menu we all saw "Sexy Drinks"...haha. They all sounded pretty good. We decided to get some and drink our hockey loss away. :P 

Sexy Drinks: 
Caramel-Fig Martini (Grey Goose, fresh lemon, roasted fig, caramel swirl) $9~ This was a pretty drink. They actually swirled caramel on the inside of the glass. There's also a roasted piece of fig at the bottom. My bf enjoyed it a lot. 

Moroccan Mojito (Bacardi Rum, brown cane sugar, fresh lime, fresh mint) $9~ I got this and asked them to make it a little sweeter for me. I like really sweet cocktails... being a lightweight and all. haha. I enjoyed it. The added sweetness made it much better for me. :) 

The Arabesque (apricot brandy, peach schnapps, fresh OJ, white cranberry) $9~ Our friend ordered this. (No pic...sorry) This turned out to be my favorite. It was the sweetest out of the 3 cocktails and it tasted like peach juice! I'd go back and order that again. hehe. 

On to the food! Can't go to a Mediterranean place without ordering some sort of dip or spread! 

We started with the Smoked Egg Plant Spread (garlic-saffron tomato confit, cilantro, white vinegar; served with oven baked pita bread) $5.50~ 

I don't like eggplant...but the Greek/Mediterranean preparation of it is the only way I'll really eat it. And I love it! The spread was chunky and light. The pita bread was nice and warm, just out of the oven. The cold spread with the warm pita bread paired very well together. 

Poached Calamari (in Ras El Hanout and drenched in shermoula tomato puree, seafood spices, garlic, cilantro, fresh lemon juice, served on mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette) $10.50~ 

I got this appetizer as my main course. It was more than enough too. Pretty big size and tons of calamari! I asked the waiter to explain Ras El Hanout and he says it's a mixture of 23 or so different spices. I can taste many different spices but overall it was very mild, in a good way. The spices did not overpower anything else. The calamari was cooked perfectly, great texture. And I got to have my salad/veggies underneath. I enjoyed it a lot. I actually took half of it to go and had it the next day as a cold dish. Being cold, it was even better in my opinion! 

My bf got the Chicken Apricot Tagine (braised marinated chicken breast in saffron cinnamon, honey, poached apricots and toasted poppyseeds; served with warm pita bread) $19~ 

Tagine is basically the dish with the lid that it came in. I liked the presentation. This was a really sweet dish... since it had honey, cinnamon, and apricots but I like sweet and savory so I enjoyed it. It's definitely not for those who don't like sweet in their food. There were some potatoes at the bottom of the dish. I don't know how they cooked them but I thought it was the best part! It was soft and creamy and gooey almost and amazing! haha. 

Our friend got the Imperial Fez Seafood Couscous (scallops and shrimp, spice mix and herbs on warm couscous with cinnamon apricots, asparagus, toasted pine nuts, golden raisins) $23~ 

I got to try a bite of the scallops which was cooked perfectly. It was also a slightly sweet dish, with the apricots and raisins. The seafood was cooked really well. But he said there was a bit too much couscous, which he left some on the dish after he ate all the seafood. haha. But it was definitely yummy. 

It was a great dinner. I haven't had many Moroccan cuisines and really enjoyed it. The ambiance was nice, our waiter was super nice and helpful. The owner or manager came by and checked on us a few times. He was super friendly as well. Plus they have cocktails I like! I will definitely go back in the future. :) 

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~