One of the most popular breakfast and lunch spots near the Lakefront, Russell's staff and customers have a cheerful camaraderie and a firm belief that there are few better places to eat eggs. This is not supported by the goodness of the food, which despite the many imaginative dishes (a surprising number of which address the tastes of the gym crowd) are pretty ordinary.
Opened in 1985 by the owner of a chain of drycleaning shops who wanted to diversify, Russell's passed to its current owner Pavlo Petrou in 1989. It evolved from a New Orleans neighborhood cafe into a standard American diner, keeping enough local dishes to set it apart. Two parts of the menu became extraordinarily popular: breakfast and a then-unique item called the onion mum. That's a large onion cut to resemble the flower, then deep fried and served with a dipping sauce. This quickly spread to other restaurants, notably Copeland's and later other chains. Although it's said to be common in Australia, in fact no record of anything like this anywhere predates Russell's serving of it. I remember that it was a major phenomenon at the time. Like everything else in that part of town, Russell's was deeply flooded after Katrina. It's return brough it much love.
Large windows on two side give onto the marina. You know the lake is nearby, which feels good. The interior is decorated with paintings of the lake and boats and such. Tables out on a patio are welcome in tolerable weather.
The more straighforward the order, the better the food. Fried seafood is variable but usually better than you expect. If you get teh onion mum, know that the greasiness in the bottom quarter of it is not due to carelessness, but an unavoidable flaw in the concept.
| Attitude | 2 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 0 |
| Hipness | 0 |
| Local Color | 2 |
| Service | 2 |
| Value | 2 |
| Wine | 0 |
