Repeat performance

Spice-rubbed grilled ahi tuna taco with chipotle tartar salsa

Food Styling: Liza Brown

Province | 161 N Jefferson St, no phone yet

Randy Zweiban has been the face of Nacional 27 for as long as the restaurant has existed. Hired before the place even opened, he achieved what very few other chefs can boast: an uninterrupted, ten-year run.

Over the course of that decade, Zweiban became well loved for his ceviches, his sumptuous braised pork and his dense chocolate desserts. In keeping with the name of the restaurant (the number refers to the 27 countries in Latin America), Zweiban pulled from a vast range of influences. That may be one reason he was able to stay as long as he did without getting bored.

But despite the breadth of Nacional’s cuisine, Zweiban eventually began to feel trapped. “I certainly was locked in a box, culinarily,” he says. So, at Province, his follow-up to Nacional, his plan as chef-owner is to show his fans what he’s been itching to do. Which is—surprisingly—American food, tinged with—not surprisingly—South American and Spanish touches. Dishes such as ceviche with papaya and rabbit confit with Marcona-almond emulsion will share menu space with a Caesar salad and a house-ground burger.

In another departure from Nacional, Province will be a smaller, neighborhood restaurant. That’s not to say it will be any less ambitious—the construction was completely green, including cork floors, low-voltage lighting, rehabbed woods and recycled leathers. Zweiban also plans to get the space LEED certified. Still, when it opens in early October, don’t come expecting DJs and flamenco dancers on the weekends. For that, you can still go to Nacional. —David Tamarkin

NEXT>>

Check out the other sections in our 2008 Fall Preview:

ART | BOOKS | CLUBS | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | GAY & LESBIAN | KIDS | MUSEUMS & CULTURE | MUSIC | OPERA & CLASSICAL | RESTAURANTS & BARS | SHOPPING | SPORTS & REC | THEATER | TV & DVD