Chicago Social

"Forget Emeril" by Gina Bazer

"Some of New Orleans' best restauranteurs are not on the Food Network Muriel's, belying its French Quarter location serves up contemporary Louisiana fare (like wood-grilled redfish with Boursin grits, roasted Gulf shrimp) in a funkified setting. Each of the four dining/bar areas is lovingly decorated with art, antiques and salvaged architectural remnants. There's even a plush, red velvet-soaked Seance Lounge, complete with a Ouija board and crystal ball."

Country Roads

"Muriel's Restaurant: A Tribute to Both Civility and Decadence" by Brenda Maitland

" It is all by design, however, a homage to a classic period of gracious living, gallantry and gentility, but with a bow to the intrigues and inconstancies of aristocratic lifestyles in a historically tumultuous era. In all its incarnations, the place has always seemed to retain a majestic presence ? This feeling of hidden mysteries, of both elegance and decadence from the city's glorious past, were key elements Doug Ahlers (owner) wished to impart to his new project.'My goal was to bring back the rea of befor modernity transformed the world, a time that was based on grace, elegance, style and charm,' said Ahlers? Rick Gratia (General Manager and co-proprietor) brings his exceptional wine knowledge to Muriel's in compiling a list of 260 labels that match the restaurant's cuisine as well as the palates of discriminating diners. Muriel's turns out fantastic Creole dishes ? 'We get the freshest ingredients available and let the natural flavors come through, being carful not to over-sauce."

Food & Wine

"Where to go Next in New Orleans" by Malia Boyd

"Muriel's chef has long made use of native Louisiana ingredients, and cooking at this former mansion in the French Quarter is no exception. Gulf fish, locally grown mirliton (chayote) and barbecue sauce made from Steen's molasses all appear on this predominantly Creole menu"

Food Arts

"Muriel's Jackson Square, opened at 801 Chartres Street, in the heart of the French Quarter, in March (2001). The two-story, 15,000 square-foot building has been restored to original 1800s Vieux Carre beauty its facade adorned with gas lamp fixtures and a lacy wrap-around wrought-iron balcony. Downstairs, the 140-seat Bistro offers casual Creole-accented fare, with appetizers such as braised veal cheek/oxtail ragout and black mussels with saffron fumet and tasso. Entrees range from cassoulet of rabbit, andouille, ham hock and white beans to saute redfish with jambalaya risotto cake and saffron/tomato stew. Desserts include white chocolate/coconut tart and almond croissant bread pudding. Upstairs, in the more formal Soire which seats another 140, Muriel's proposes a nightly tasting menu made up of such enticements as roasted Hudson Valley foie gras in leek/cauliflower soup followed by lobster/truffle couscous with poached egg and salmon cream."

Physicians' Travel & Meeting Guide

Dining Guide: New Orleans" by Diane Tegmeyer

"A provocative menu and perhaps the best site in the city is Muriel's Jackson Square. Sit here and watch the world go by. An antique decor is both opulent and bohemian at once. Private dining rooms make this a perfect place for parties or large groups. Muriel's has a menu that includes traditional New Orleans appetizers such as oysters Muriel, shrimp remoulade and crawfish crepes, and entrees such as cassoulet and wood-grilled redfish."

Sante Magazine

"Creating a Bar Scene" by Donna Smallin Craft an Experience

The owners of Muriel's Jackson Square in New Orleans have built their entire business on the experience concept. Located in the heart of the French Quarter, their 15,000 square-foot restaurant is housed in one of the city's grand residences, restored to its nineteenth-century glory at a cost of $2 million. The bar areas at Muriel's generate 35% of revenue for the restaurant, or $500,000 of the $2.6 million in total beverage sales. Co-proprietor Rick Gratia says, 'You have to recognize that everything affects the customer experience ? from music, lighting, and temperature to china, glassware, silverware, and staff attire.' Opened in March 2001, Muriel's offers four distinct experiences. On the first floor, a chic courtyard bistro and bar present casual fine dining. Says Gratia of the Creole-style menu, 'The food gets [the customer] in, but we make money on the beverages.' Upstairs, patrons enjoy light fare and drinks on the balcony as they listen to the street musicians below on Jackson Square. Inside, guests are served contemporary Louisiana fare in an intimate, gaslit formal dining room. The upstairs also houses the sultry seance Lounge, a decadent gathering place with plush, velvety furnishings and a variety of drinks."

Visitor Magazine

"Chef Speak"

"In the heart of the French Quarter, Muriel's is updating Creole cooking. Muriel's occupies a beautiful corner of Jackson Square and presents a menu of classic New Orleans dishes with creative twists. Creole cooking combines the classic techniques of the early French and Spanish colonists and local ingredients. That includes everything from cured meats and sausages from Cajun Country to all the seafood pulled out of the Gulf and bayous. Barbecued shrimp has become one of the city's signature dishes. Muriel's has created a version in which they shell the shrimp, bathes them in a special barbecue sauce made with beer and then puts them on skewers to cook them on the grill.Theye then serve them over rice pilaf sitting in bowls made from fried rice paper. Crab cakes are very popular locally. Muriel's created There own crabmeat appetizer and matched it with corn macque choux, a Creole version of corn succotash. There dish is a crabmeat and sauteed leek egg roll served over the macque choux. When crawfish come into season, They sautee crawfish with the trinity of Creole cooking, celery, bell peppers and onions. They then add white wine and serve it like a sauce over goat cheese crepes. Creole cooking was originally an approach to combining old recipes with new ingredients. Contemporary Creole cooking is doing the exact same thing to modernize New Orleans cuisine and keep it creative."

Where Magazine

"Taste of the City" by Tracy Williams

"Muriel's Jackson Square - serves contemporary Creole cuisine. An oddly cozy mixture of wood, brick, and vintage photographs in the dining room, and plush velvet curtains and African decorr in the upstairs Seance lounge make Muriel's one of the more eclectic places in town. The food, however, is inspired by traditional Louisiana cooking. Signature dishes include oysters Muriel (smoked oysters with a bacon, mushroom, and jalapeno stuffing); seared foie gras with cane jelly, apples, and watercress; and shrimp remoulade with fried green tomatoes."

Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards
"Best Restaurants in the World for Wine Lovers"

Louisiana:
Award of Excellence: Muriel's Jackson Square, New Orleans

Zagat Survey

"Imaginatively decorated" rooms "ranging from haunting to haunted" beguile guest (and a few "resident ghost") at this Festive, Romantic Creole overlooking Jackson Square; from its "rich and tasty creations" at a fair price to its "smiling service" and historic charm - particularly in the "decadent" Seance lounge where you "feel like a sultan". Food and service are very good to excellent. The decor is extraordinary to perfection. Its what the French Quarter is all about!

WINE SPECTATOR MAGAZINE

"CHANGE COMES TO THE CRESCENT CITY"

"Certainly one of the most outstanding creole restaurants in the French Quarter is Muriel's Jackson Square.  It is set in a historic building whose interior seems to go on forever, with exposed brick walls, fine abtiques andprivate banquet rooms upstairs (including the seance Lounge).  Muriel's cooks with real gusto and never skimps on portions.  If you wish to stay traditional, start off with Muriel's sampler, gumbo, turtle soup, shrimp roulade, crab cake and oysters Muriel.  But the heart is in more modern dishes with big American flavors, such as crispy roasted chicken with a duck confit sausage corn-bread stuffing and assertive roasted garlic sauce; slow-roasted duck is served with aromatic pecan popcorn rice; and Napoleon's shrimp romulad updates a creole classic by sandwiching shrimp, in a spicy romelaude sauce, between flawlessly fried green tomatoes.

Co-owner and wine buyer Rick Gratia maintains an extremely well-balanced Wine Spectator Award of Excellence cellar, with 350 labels, 50 half-bottles (including Cain Five Napa Valley '99 at $65), a "Special Listing" of decently priced rarities such as Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast  Meredith Estate '01 ($95), a 1.5 liter Chimney Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District '90 ($152) and nine vintages of Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Georges de Latour Private Reserve, including '81 in magnum ($180)?"