What started as a food truck and farmers market stand has evolved into a cheerful, welcoming new brick-and-mortar restaurant on North Park’s El Cajon Boulevard.
The Backstory
At its core, Medina is a refreshing, modern take on a mom-and-pop restaurant. Or, in this case, a father-daughter restaurant.
Chef-owner Alia Jaziri set out to celebrate her North African heritage and Southern California up-brining with a simple menu that reflects the casual attitude of a taqueria and the unique flavors of Tunisia, her father’s birthplace.
You’ll find her dad, Moncef Jaziri in the kitchen, making merguez sausages, which are sure to become their signature menu item.
The Vibe
The small storefront features a light-dappled interior dining room that overlooks the patio seating. The walls are painted the perfect Mediterranean teal, with small touches of Middle Eastern flare in the form of well-placed lanterns and tagines, and geometric “mashrabia” patterns stenciled on the walls.
The understated tile-topped tables are an Instagram junkie’s dream backdrop.
The space exudes the feeling of a cheerful restaurant that might be found down an alleyway in an old Arabian souq, or a roadside on the way to a Baja beachtown.
It is a place where you would be just as comfortable ordering a light lunch for takeaway or lingering over your meal with a glass of wine. In a very Middle Eastern fashion, it is a restaurant that defies binary definition, offering a fluid experience that can be whatever you need it to be on a given day.
The Food
The menu focuses on tacos and bowls topped with shredded chicken, a vegetarian black bean and sweet potato saute, or house-made lamb sausage.
Beyond the tacos and bowls, Alia also offers a shakshouka skillet features eggs baked in a smoky tomato sauce with thick cut bell peppers and served with a few crispy flatbread points to help soak up the flavorful sauce.
There are also parmesan garlic french fries available as a side order.
The undisputed star of the Medina menu is the Merguez. This North African lamb sausage is traditionally packed with spicy, earthy flavor courtesy of harissa chili paste and plenty of cumin, fennel, and coriander.
At Medina, Moncef Jaziri uses 80% lamb and 20% beef for his halal sausages, to avoid any hint of the gaminess sometimes associated with lamb. The result is a satisfyingly smokey and picante sausage that is the best example of this regional specialty anywhere in San Diego County.
In taco form, they are served atop a perfectly charred oval of freshly baked flatbread alongside chopped tomatoes and cucumbers; topped with a creamy scallion tzatziki and pickled onions. It’s like a gyro on flavor steroids.
About the size of your hand, you would be satisfied with one if you’re moderately hungry, while two would be enough to bed down a serious appetite. Priced at a reasonable $5.50, they would make a fantastic lunch or light evening meal.
The other two tacos are served on chewy, freshly griddled tortillas made from a blend of corn and wheat flour. They are hearty and have a slight sweetness to them that would benefit from the addition of a dash of hot sauce.
The bowls are comprised of tender couscous, peppery arugula, black beans, roasted corn, and your choice of protein, topped with a scattering of pickled onions and dollops of that amazing tzatiziki crema.
Because we now feel that coming to Medina and not ordering the merguez would basically be a crime against yourself, we opted for the sausage bowl. It was the kind of meal I could eat every day, providing an array of textures and flavors that keep it interesting to the last bite. It’s hearty without being heavy. We predict it will be an instant menu favorite.
The Drinks
Most beverages at Medina are on-tap, from the Modern Times nitro cold brew to the rotating taps of local craft beers. The wine list including varietals sourced from both California and Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe. They also offer some non-draft options like Topo Chico, Mexican Coca-Cola, and traditional Moroccan mint tea.
The Bottom Line
Medina is everything you could want from a small neighborhood joint, from the passionate, friendly owners in the kitchen to the bright, reasonably priced dishes that you could eat every day without guilt, to the transportative, stylish dining room that’s sure to be buzzing during happy hour.
Visit Medina
2850 El Cajon Blvd Suite #4, North Park
Open Daily, 11am-9pm
Copyright ©2024 Edible San Diego (Archive). All rights reserved
