Food critics don't usually gush. Get ready, I'm gonna gush: I predict Alex Kinjo's knockout new upscale Vietnamese eatery in the Midtown Promenade (the former Zoe's) will be a smashing success.

Vietnamese cuisine can be a mite intimidating: you trek over to Buford Highway, are handed a multi-page menu full of unpronounceable dishes. The staff may or may not speak English. Even the most intrepid foodie may leave disheartened. Nam changes all that with its trendy locale, ravishing interior, helpful staff and memorably delectable-but not dumbed-down-food. There's a precedent for my optimism: Alex is the force behind the wildly successful MFSushi, just up the road on Ponce de Leon.

Compact and ravishing is how I'd describe the space, which looks like it could easily be in Manhattan or San Francisco. Alex lavished nearly five months on his vision, supervising everything with an attention to details you'd find at Seeger's or Bacchanalia and the results are splendid without being contrived.

The wow factor comes courtesy the filmy red and white curtains, chocolate brown upholstery, striking fresh-cut flowers accented, dramatic lighting (including lotus-shaped paper chandeliers), elegant bamboo shaped silverware and Alex's own charcoal drawings of women on one wall. Add music, willowy waitresses in ao dai, traditional, form-fitting rosebud pink chemises and a candle-lit trail to oxblood-tiled bathrooms and you've got one sensual, stylish vibe to wile away a couple of hours.

"This is a collaboration, the ultimate in food and atmosphere in a blend of traditional and contemporary," Alex says excitedly of the new family-centric venture and his enthusiasm is palatable. Sister Linh is the hostess and mother Anh is the chef; cousin Huan and brother-in-law Giang also have key roles. Alex and Linh both have matching caramel highlights in their chestnut hair and graciously welcome patrons. The family hails from Hue, in the heart of Vietnam, an area known not as Northern or Southern, but simply as "Nam;" hence, the name.

Less aggressively seasoned than Thai food and more complex than Chinese food, true gourmet Vietnamese cooking is distinctive and subtle, the complexity unfolding with each layered-and healthful-bite. The menu (tucked into a wooden holder) is intelligently organized into appetizers, salads, soups, meats, noodles, seafood and vegetables. There's tremendous variety, but it's all well edited for a non-Asian palate, although on the night I visited, just two weeks after its quiet opening. Who was there? A pleasant mix of Asians, non-Asians, gays, straights and folks ranging from college age to senior citizens, many of whom Alex has lured from MFSushi.

You'd be wise to let Alex or your waitress (our was the attentive Hoa) direct your choices-so enticing are they all, that you'll have plenty to sample on a return visit. Alex brought us five different appetizers (several off-menu) and a couple of entrees. We selected a lovely bottle of Domaine Hering gewürztraminer from Alsace, a perfect foil for delicate Vietnamese seasonings.

Bo la lat is a stellar grilled, ground sausage wrapped in banana leaf; nuoc mam, glistening beef carpaccio served with thin lime slices and chef's secret fish sauce (it's not the pungent stuff you've had in Chamblee); goi ga, is a cold salad of boiled chicken, onion, cabbage and aromatic basil. The tastes were all complimentary and yet so different, each plate was beautifully presented and our anticipation was exceeded as we sipped and nibbled. And that was just our starters. The main course included a striped bass wrapped in squash, the whole bundled in ___ leaves-a beautiful dish that was joy to eat. The piece de resistance? The "shaking" kobe beef, rich cubes of the finest meat stir-fired with chopped garlic and onions. We paired a glass of Paraiso pinot noir with the beef and it was divine.

There may well have been desert, but we were too sated to order any. Rather, we polished off a Muscat from Domaine de Durban, its sweetness a perfect finale. Did I mention that the attention to the small, but upscale wine list is as exacting as the food?

As a food reviewer, I eat far more mediocre to poor meals than truly rewarding ones. After my companion, a wine consultant, and I left, were unable to contain our glee; turns out we aren't as jaded as we thought. Days later we both chirped like birds about our fabulous dinner at Nam, telling friends and colleagues. I scheduled a second meal within a week, because I can't wait to taste my way through more of the tempting menu.

Truth is, gushing comes easy when it's all good. And at Nam, it's all better than good.