MEDATERRA MIXES CULINARY TRADITIONS FROM MANY LANDS

Medaterra at times is as mixed up as its name, but that shouldn’t deter diners looking for a spacious, low-key retreat offering some exotic flavors.

The name is a clever reference to the many lands around the Mediterranean Sea, with a special emphasis on the North African coast from Egypt to Morocco. There are plenty of culinary traditions from which to choose within that span, and the owners of this 6-week-old restaurant have taken the most liberal route possible to connect them.

Where eclectic tastes are concerned, the first block of Connecticut Avenue north of Calvert Street is becoming a model outpost of serial dining experiences-almost a culinary United Nations. Medaterra moved in when the Saigon Inn moved out. Thai Taste is a neighbor. Across the street is popular, long-established Lebanese Taverna, not far from a Taste of India and Acapulco.

Medaterra’s proprietor, Tamer Aly, a native of Egypt, isn’t bothered by the competition. He says he has done his homework-enough to know what people like and how his menu differs from that of the Lebanese Taverna. “Seventy percent of my menu is not his, but the other 30 percent we share”, he says.

What is sure different is Medaterra’s list of 11 gin or vodka martinis ($4.95 each) alongside the appetizers. Not exactly Mediterranean in spirit, but certainly trendy as drinking matters go these days.

“We used to be Arabic and Egyptian, but now we put more colors on the plate”, says Mr. Aly, who formerly owned the Pasha Café in Arlington for 12 years.

Color is everywhere, not only on the menu. Fiesta-ware graces the tables, and most entrees are accompanied by a decorative spray of sliced carrots. Walls are painted tangerine and yellow. The ceiling is blue-that special, succulent deep blue of ocean depths-as are the divans along one wall, the water glasses and the shirts worn by the waiters.

The place could use some finishing touches, even a little greenery inside. The walls are bare except for mirrors and posters, which, Mr. Aly says, are costly collector items he buys in New York.

If restaurants are judged as theatrical as well as culinary experiences, this one still is in rehearsal. When we visited, there was a single menu with the same prices for lunch and dinner. Mr. Aly promised that some lighter fare, including sandwiches, would be available within the week.

Medaterra is a family operation. The handsome waiters are Mr. Aly’s grown children, a capable crew. The chef-at least for the moment-is Mr. Aly’s wife, Khadija, a former physics teacher. “Food has something to do with chemistry,” Mr. Aly says as an afterthought.

His sense of color refers, too, to a grander sweep of territory. It may be a reach, but he manages to get the word Spanish before the word paprika, which is sprinkled over lamb kebabs. Hence a menu with Tunisian couscous with seven vegetables, Moroccan spiced chicken on skewers and Moorish Shrimp. The latter weren’t quite as “jumbo” as advertised, but the harissa sauce in which they were cooked was delicious.

Harissa, a pungent mix of cayenne pepper, cumin, lemon juice and olive oil, makes a delicious accompaniment for any number of dishes, as does the all purpose Moroccan charmoula (olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, cilantro, garlic, paprika, cumin and cayenne). Medaterra adds tomato sauce to charmoula “brushed” over swordfish brochettes.

Some beverages have an authentic ring, as do two of the dessert offerings. Fresh-squeezed lemonade is offered along with Turkish coffee and both hot and cold mint tea. (The glass mug of hot tea arrived with a sprig of fresh mint inside.) We found the rice pudding enclosed by phyllo dough-like a flower-bland. Far better was the Egyptian saraya, a vanilla-flavored white custard over strawberry jam. (Rose water would be used normally, but Mr. Aly considers that too sweet for American tastes.)

Two French women in our luncheon party also raved over the couscous, which was tender and not lumpy, with a satisfying flavor. A major disappointment was trying, on two occasions, to order a tempting item listed as whole roasted sea bass stuffed with Turkish dates, figs and apricots. Twice it was unavailable.

“You have to come earlier”, we were told. But it was no later than 1p.m. and 8p.m. both times. “I cannot fire the chef,” Mr. Aly said.

What won the hearts of my dining companions instead was the eggplant and zucchini vegetarian mousaka and the braised North African spiced lamb shank. The lamb was a tender, voluptuous dish that obviously had been cooked lovingly for the right length of time.

A red snapper, offered plain, roasted in a lemon-butter dressing with a few onion slices and the ubiquitous carrots, was judged less tender than desirable. Possibly it suffered from having to be carried from the kitchen to a table in the attractive sidewalk café. None of the plates was warmed beforehand.

(The café would benefit from having a cover to shield diners from the sun.) The small selection of bottled beers is priced at $3.75 each; a glass of house wine is $3.95 or $4.50 (Bottles of wine range from $15.95 to $24.95.) Our choice, a Chilean Los Vascos Cabernet, was the excellent suggestion of the friendly waitress. So friendly that, after the meal, as we were on our way out, she shook the hand of everyone in our party.