MUSE Restaurant and Wine Bar: Inspired downtown dining

The Villa of Mysteries is the inspiration for Muse, a restaurant and wine bar in a restored home on Society Street.

In the year 79, the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the city of Pompeii. Under this sarcophagus of ash was a villa, remarkably preserved, right down to frescoes on its walls. Thought by scholars to be the location of an initiation rite of some kind, one can enter the chamber and observe the sequence of frescoes depicting a woman engaged in a ritual with Dionysus.

All of this portends well for a wine bar, as Dionysus is the god of the vine and celebrations called bacchanalia were "wild and mystic festivals" where the ancients were know to party hearty.

Muse has embraced its Mediterranean muse in a comprehensive fashion -- from its frescoes, grape cluster wall sconces, Pompeian red dining room, faux painted plaster walls, ceiling medallions and Ravello ceramic dishes. In a bit of irony, the area around Naples, whose earth is the prime ingredient of both Ravello and Vietri pottery, owes its quality to the volcanic content of its soil.

The soothing decor, candle-lit tables and pillows that cushion your lower back on the banquettes give testament to the time and care owner Beth Anne Crane spent on fashioning Muse.

In a similar vein, former chef Jason Houser cruised the Mediterranean superhighway and shopped the Silk Road and the Spice Route for the items on Muse's menu. Houser left in January to pursue his own muse -- that of curing meats and trying his capable hands at butchery. You can taste his success each Saturday at the Charleston Farmers Market. But the Med-Rim stamp he placed on the menu remains.

Crane quickly transitioned veteran executive chef Thomas Egerton from Crane's Tavern & Steakhouse on Hilton Head Island to her Charleston restaurant. It has been a seamless fabrication. New England Culinary Institute graduate Egerton, who has worked with James Beard Award-winning chef Vincent Guerithault at Vincent's on Camelback (Phoenix), brings culinary chops honed by experience, imagination and a sure hand.

Enter the cool, red bar, with all the style and sophistication of a well-heeled Loubouton, and enjoy an oasis of friendliness matched by a quick pour of wine or an easy shake of your favorite cocktail.

Weather cooperating, take a seat at the outdoor patio now dressed with potted plants and living barriers to the foot traffic on Society Street. And if you are a couple, opt for the "Romeo and Juliet table," set for two on the simple balcony off the second-floor dining area.

Egerton has been making the menu his own since coming on board this winter. His menu is as wide as the Mediterranean, casting aside the boredom barriers of same old, same old with calamari grilled ($10) to a charred edge glistening olive oil, orange zest and fresh basil bursts. The duck breast ($12) remains as does the seared manchego cheese and arugula salad ($10). Do try the caprese salad ($11) gently dressed with a reduced balsamic vin cotto, a halo of heirloom tomatoes and a cushion of buffalo mozzarella filigreed with basil oil. The quintessential flavors of the Neapolitan summer are all yours.

The meze platter ($12) of baba ghanoush, hummus, cucumber salad and olives or the cheese platter ($15) provide Med-tours for your tastebuds as you ponder the menu at Muse. The starters alone can easily craft a meal with a daily bruschetta ($8) and soup ($7) offering.

The sesame-crusted bread (perfected by Houser) comes warm to the table. Peppery olive oil is puddled on a shallow plate for your dipping pleasure.

An appetizer of scallops ($10) are crusted and served nearly trembling on a cheese anchor of crisp polenta. A butter sauce infused with oregano washes over these flavors of ocean and earth, and quenelles of tapenade completed this canvas of edible art.

Med-leaning entrees, local ingredients, house-made pastas, breads and desserts promise no shell games from this kitchen. The tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce ($17) is tempered by time, dotting this ribbon-shaped pasta with the ultimate in meat reductions. Chicken breast ($18) visits the Iberian Peninsula for a shot of sherry and a classic braise of kale and chorizo served with a burnished side of arroz.

Local shrimp and polenta ($19), Muse's version of shrimp and grits, sounded banal but tasted ethereal. It was the dish where you take a bite, pause and savor the taste, texture and symphony of these flavors married by time, terroir and tradition. Tiny grape tomatoes and a sauce of buttery Chardonnay shaped this dish with distinction.

Grilled swordfish ($24) rode in on a high tide of white kidney beans, sun-dried tomatoes and pesto ragu. Smears of olives intensified the briny, salty portfolio of ingredients. The simple freshness of the fish nearly trumped the complexity of its presentation.

There is much to like on the menu at Muse. What is impressive is that the kitchen staff prepares the desserts. No talented pastry chef in the back of the house but a team of cooks that produces gelato, baklava, white chocolate bread pudding, chocolate cake with espresso-whipped cream and that beauty: limoncello parfait with phyllo crisps and raspberry essences. Honoring Odysseus, we heeded the Sirens call to baklava ($7) and enjoyed a not-too-sweet orange-honey glazed pastry sheeted with tender phyllo dough and a refreshing globe of gelato.

Our service was friendly, warm and capable. As the waves of guests peak, this nimble kitchen can be slowed; order a side of patience.

The menu will change with the seasons, and we hope the permissive culinary cartography that finds its final destination at 82 Society St. will continue to find the muse of Muse in inspiration.