Muriel's Jackson Square

Muriel's Jackson Square has everything one could want in a French Quarter lunch spot. It has classic Creole cooking, an excellent location near the St. Louis Cathedral, and a ghost story. Yesterday was my second time eating at Muriel's, and it wasn't quite as pleasant as my first. This is mainly because my first meal at Muriel's was on a Friday afternoon in the middle of summer, which is typically a slow time of year for New Orleans restaurants. Yesterday there were quite a few events going on in the French Quarter, plus it was Halloween Eve. It took me half an hour to find a parking spot, and the restaurant was packed, but I'll forgive them because the service made up for everything that I could possibly complain about.
Our meal started off with an appetizer of shrimp and goat cheese crepes. I was not too pleased with the temperature; I would have preferred a piping hot crepe rather than the lukewarm one that I got. The shrimp were plump and juicy, the goat cheese was creamy and smooth, and altogether it was a delicious dish.
The soup of the day was a cream of potato and bacon soup. Everything was blended perfectly together- there were no bits of bacon or chunks of potato, just a uniformly textured soup.

For an entree, I had the wood-grilled pork chop served with red beans and rice and cornbread. The pork chop was cooked thoroughly without being too dry and had an excellent smoky flavor, and the red beans were thick and creamy, just like mamma's. The cornbread wasn't my favorite- there were chunks of bell pepper which really messed up the texture for me. It almost tasted Mexican... it did not blend well with the flavors of the pork chop and red beans.

 Service was really slow because there were so many guests eating lunch, and it took an unbelievable amount of time for our entrees to arrive at the table. We were kind of irritated but didn't complain; we figured we'd just have a leisurely lunch and enjoy some conversation. The manager stopped by our table anyway and offered us free desserts to make up for the wait, and of course we gladly accepted.
The desserts chosen for us were a flourless chocolate cake and bread pudding.

The cake had the consistency of the inside of a truffle- it melted in my mouth. It wasn't super sweet, but it was very rich, and even though I'm not a big chocolate eater, I did like it a lot. However, I think the bread pudding was better, maybe even the best bread pudding I've had. There were no raisins or nuts or anything inside of the pudding, but the crust was drizzled with a sauce that tasted like pralines and topped with candied pecans. It was divine. And I forgive them for the three-hour long lunch, because this bread pudding made it way worth it.

Ambiance: 10. There's a ghost story, and if you ask them about it they bring a sheet to the table that tells the history of the building and its former inhabitants. Also, some of the main building structures that survived the big New Orleans fire are still standing, and the newer structures have been built around them.
Food: 8. The crepes weren't hot, and the cornbread didn't mesh well with the pork chop, but everything else was fantastic, and the bread pudding was ridiculously good.
Service: 10. They didn't even give us a chance to complain about the long wait, they just read our minds and brought us make-up desserts. My heart can always be won over with free food, especially free food of this caliber.

Muriel's, I forgive you for making my lunch last three hours. It was actually kind of fun. I'll be back to see you again soon, I hope.