The Restaurants We Can't Live Without By Tom Fitzmorris. . . Revised May 2009 #33 Muriel's Contemporary Creole. French Quarter: 801 Chartres. 504-568-1885. Map. Lunch and dinner seven days. Sunday brunch. Nice Casual AE DC DS MC V www.muriels.com   WHY IT'S ESSENTIAL   In an environment that could be used for a movie set in New Orleans, Muriel's rings all the Creole bells, using fine local seafood and other classy product in fresh, bistro-style dishes. The pricing of the menu is remarkably attractive for such a key location: Jackson Square, the center of New Orleans since its earliest years. That keeps the private dining rooms busy with private parties all the time.   WHY IT'S GOOD   The chef is Gus Martin, who made the rounds for years with the Brennans and has a good fix on what constitutes real food. The fresh foodstuffs, the convincing seasoning levels, and the Creole cooking techniques results in a menu different enough to be distinctive, but unambiguously imbued with the flavor of the town.   BACKSTORY   Muriel's was the third of a small chain of mostly West Coast restaurants opened by a dot-com zillionaire. He also liked New Orleans, so he and partner Rick Gratia--who spent years managing dining rooms and wine cellars for the Brennans--opened Muriel's just before 9/11. Ultimately, the other Muriel's went down, but this one was a hit with both locals and visitors from the beginning. The restaurant came back from the storm hampered only by a lack of personnel, but soon was not only back to work but busy helping other restaurateurs--notably Leah Chase at Dooky Chase. The building has its own history. Built in the early 1800s, it became a pasta factory for a long time during the years when the French Quarter was really more Italian. In the 1970s, it was converted into an outlet of the Chart House chain, which it remained for decades.   DINING ROOM   If your idea of New Orleans atmosphere includes an ancient building with quirky, rumpled furnishings, suggestions of voodoo and the bordello, this is the place for you. Even lifetime Orleanians find the place authentic, particularly the upstairs rooms, which are illuminated almost entirely by candles in the chandeliers. You get to them after passing a table set every night for the building's ghost (observed by more than a few people over the years) and climbing candle-lit stairs with monks chanting in the background. A balcony wrapping around the restaurant upstairs adds further to a nearly-perfect old New Orleans environment.   ESSENTIAL DISHES   Seafood gumbo. Turtle soup. Barbecue oysters with pepper butter. Shrimp with Herbsaint. Goat cheese crepe with crawfish. Sauteed crab cake remoulade. Grilled redfish with crabmeat butter. Seared duck breast with duck confit and dirty rice. Wood-grilled steaks with oyster dressing. Double-cut pork chop with apple sugar cane glass and pecan sweet potatoes. Pain perdu bread pudding.   FOR BEST RESULTS   Muriel's runs frequent menu promotions motivated by seasons for local products. They also have frequent wine dinners. All these are unusally good. Sunday brunch is one of the better ones. The house-label wine is unexpectedly excellent.   OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT   Some members of the service staff, notably the people at the front door, have a less than perfect idea of what avid diners want from a restauramt.   FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD   Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter. Dining Environment +2 Consistency +2 Service +1 Value +2 Attitude +1 Wine and Bar +2 Hipness Local Color +3   SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES    Romantic Windows with a view Good for business meetings Private dining room (fewer than 25) Private dining room (more than 25) Open Sunday Open Monday Open most holidays Well-known chef Historic Vegetarian dishes Good for children Valet parking free Reservations accepted Reservations honored promptly Click here for an index to all 200 Essential Restaurant reviews. © 2009 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com