Andrew Silverman is planning to open an American bistro at 1700 Broadway in late February. This is the space that housed his restaurant Maison for many years, as well as his short-lived Italian project, Torino. Rendezvous will serve modern American cuisine like crispy duck and waffles with an orange truffle maple gastrique; cast iron chicken in a red curry marinade with market vegetables; and a lobster and mussel steam pot. Open 24 hours a day, it will have 65 indoor seats and 150 seats outside starting in the spring. Sam Crocker, who was sous chef at Il Buco before becoming executive chef of Burnside Biscuits in Astoria, will serve as consulting chef.
Meanwhile, Silverman quietly opened City Crab Shack, a more laid back version of the original City Crab, which closed on Park Avenue South in September, to make way for the new Union Square Cafe. The cozy offshoot, at 10 East 16th Street serves up Maryland crab soup; Norwegian salmon that is smoked, and then grilled; Old Bay spiced peel and eat shrimp; and a classic lobster bake, among other seafood selections, set against music from Sinatra to the Stones.