The restaurant is Province, as in a local unit of government. I thought I should clear that up right from the get-go, so that when you call Province to make a reservation you pronounce it correctly. And call you should. Chef/owner Randy Zweiban (most recently of Nacional 27) has put together a fine restaurant with a menu that is contemporary American at the core but then spreads out across the plains of Spain and a few other Latin countries as well.
I thought the small plate/large plate epidemic that had swept through restaurants over the last couple of years had been cured, but I guess not. And Province, which has been open for about a month now, has caught the bug, too.
But I can live with how it's being done here. Even though the menu headings "Bites," "Small," "Big," "Bigger" do cause somewhat of a pause (as to what and how much to order), there's nothing oddball about the choices. On the other hand, the fact that even under the "Bigger" (think entree) heading of choices you can get a smaller portion allows for some interesting free-range eating -- a flight of foods approach -- without too much danger of sending the tab into orbit.
For example, one night I ordered a smaller portion of the 10-hour braised lamb ($12 for a half-portion, $22 for full). The hunk of lamb was tenderly (fork-tender) luscious from the slow braising, and the portion, maybe 4 ounces, was actually quite enough. The lamb rode atop a finely chopped mixture of eggplant, cornbread and chorizo, a flavor alliance that I wouldn't dream of pairing with lamb, but it came off just great.
Back to the "Bites," of which there are three listed. This is what you would want to nibble and nosh on while having a cocktail. The "Cuban pork bocadillo" is, in fact, a mini-burger of sorts. Generally, a bocadillo is a long baguette, but here we have two cute little pulled pork sandwiches, each cut in half, so two bites does one in. As good as they were, I'm still not convinced they were worth three bucks each.
On the other hand, I would gladly pay $7 again and again for the tortilla soup, which, with its depth of flavor along with nubs of avocado and smoked chicken, had me thinking that I hadn't had a tortilla soup this good in a long time.
Something unexpected is always welcome when dining out, and Province came through with a pleasing treat made up of puffs of cornbread, herbed crisps and a white bean puree. Definitely a lot nicer nibbling than plain bread.
Under the heading of "Small," the choice was "melted Spanish blue cheese fondue." Excellent. The melted cheese (I'm not sure if it was a Cabrales or Valdeon blue) had a pungent, yet not overpowering, flavor that got tamed just a bit with the addition of smoked onions. Herbed crisps (crackers, actually) for dipping and slathering were part of the package.
Moving down the menu to the "Big" list of choices, in size, the portions on these dishes would be smaller than an entree but bigger than an appetizer. The attraction at first is the price range of these dishes -- $10-$12 -- but after trying two (five choices are listed), it was the flavors that really won me over.
Slow-roasted Gunthorp Farms pork was one of the dishes chosen. If you love pork and what happens to pork when it gets cooked low (as in temperature) and slow (as in time), you will enjoy this dish. Slow cooking develops flavor like no other method, and this pork was a rhapsody of flavor. The meat is in the company of some very nice rice, beans and braised greens -- not a lot of them, but enough to add texture and another layer of flavor.
The "House Ground Burger" was all one could ask for in a burger. The meat, cooked medium-rare as requested and tucked nicely into a sturdy brioche roll, had a pleasing mineral taste that gives lovers of a burger the reason we keep coming back for more. And what's a burger without some fine fries? Province's fries were better than fine. Crisp on the outside, giving way to gentle firmness. The tangy house-made ketchup alongside made for perfect dipping.
The desserts were good but not up to the creativity the rest of the menu offered. The slab of pound cake with shaved pears and lemon sorbet had some moments, especially the mouth-puckering lemon sorbet (really good). The pear tart with vanilla bean ice cream wasn't all bad, it was simply a bit boring.
Pat Bruno is a local free-lance critic and author. E-mail brunoeats@aol.com. Listen to Pat Bruno talk about food and wine Tuesdays at 6:23 p.m. and 10:23 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 7:53 p.m. on WBBM News Radio 780-AM.
