You can see the billboard as soon as you leave Louis Armstrong Airport: “Eat at Muriel’s Jackson Square.” Minutes upon arrival in the Big Easy, Muriel’s has you hooked – and it’s probably only a matter of hours before you find yourself heading down Chartres Street, toward the iconic 18th-century building at the corner of Jackson Square.
Once a private home for the Royal Treasurer of the French Louisiana Colonies, the illustrious residence has also housed the “Royal Club” and the Heritage Hall Jazz Band. Muriel’s Jackson Square opened in 2001 after an extensive renovation that restored the elegance of the original private mansion. A bordello red lounge evokes the city’s louche spirit, while the dining rooms hark back to an era of Empire style and lavish entertaining.
Executive Chef Gus Martin’s contemporary Creole menu focuses on signature dishes such as Gulf seafood stew, BBQ shrimp, and blackened redfish – but it’s the pain perdu bread pudding with candied pecans and rum sauce that keeps people talking about Muriel’s long after they’ve left New Orleans. A sine qua non of a sojourn in New Orleans, Muriel’s pain perdu bread pudding lingers in the memory in a fashion similar to a Proustian madeleine – and reminds you of what it means to miss New Orleans.
LINK: Muriel’s Jackson Square
