536 Frenchmen St (Marigny) 504.298.8746. Credit Cards. No video poker. No smoking. 4pm to 'till. Closed Tuesday. What's our problem? Our problem is that we'd rather sit in an old New Orleans restaurant with outdated decor, a menu that hasn't changed since the 40s and sip cheap gin and tonics. Oh, our problem is that we want to live in a museum! No, exactly the opposite. Museums take things out of context and display them. Our love is living in context, in the aging, impossible, 60-year-old doddering busboy, decaying New Orleans with bad carpet and a dishwasher that moonlights as a bookie. Enter Three Muses, a small plates restaurant that pays tribute to New Orleans decadence with red velvet curtains, gilded mirrors and lots of stained wood -- all of it pleasantly maintained. The brass hooks for purses under the bar is a nice touch. And yet contemporary bare bulb lighting and cement floors point to maybe a gastropub in the northeast or a cafe/bar hybrid in San Francisco. Truthfully it's exactly the kind of place we sort of avoid. But this is why you should not: the kitchen is fantastic, incredible. Even when the small restaurant (12 or so tables plus seating for 10 at the bar) is slammed they manage to put out thoughtful, consistent food -- food which is carefully composed, perfectly cooked, mouthwatering. We love the lamb sliders topped with delicious tomato chutney. The lemon ice box pie is probably the best in the city. There were six vegetarian options the last time we visited -- a minor miracle in NOLA. The bar has fancy booze (like St. Germain). Get drunk artisan-style with their house-made tonic. In short, the owners care about the details and they have great taste. There's a sticker over one of the bar cash registers. It reads: "Acceptance." And so we accept that there will be new places in New Orleans and we accept that we can like and even love many of these thriving, contemporary establishments (even though many of these spots attract older professionals, overly self-conscious transplants and people who care way too much about bike trails). Live music every night. Good wine and beer selection. Casual.
