Skip to content

Breaking News

  • Jerk Chicken entree served with fresh mixed vegetables and a...

    Lindsay Bukowinski / Hartford Courant

    Jerk Chicken entree served with fresh mixed vegetables and a side of rice and peas. The jerk chicken is also available for a salad add-on.

  • Mac and Cheese is one of the quick bite options...

    Lindsay Bukowinski / Hartford Courant

    Mac and Cheese is one of the quick bite options at The Russell. Other quick bites include jerk wings, beef patties, and coco bread.

  • The Russell Salad is mixed greens topped with cherry tomatoes,...

    Lindsay Bukowinski / Hartford Courant

    The Russell Salad is mixed greens topped with cherry tomatoes, pink grapefruit, cornbread croutons and balsamic vinaigrette.

  • The Russell Grab & Go is a new lunch spot...

    Lindsay Bukowinski / Hartford Courant

    The Russell Grab & Go is a new lunch spot on Pratt Street.

  • Escovitch Fish served with a side of fried dumplings.

    Lindsay Bukowinski / Hartford Courant

    Escovitch Fish served with a side of fried dumplings.

  • Jamaican pastries, banana chips and fresh fruit are prepackaged for...

    Lindsay Bukowinski / Hartford Courant

    Jamaican pastries, banana chips and fresh fruit are prepackaged for quick grabbing.

  • Mac and Cheese is one of the quick bite options...

    Lindsay Bukowinski / Hartford Courant

    Mac and Cheese is one of the quick bite options at The Russell. Other quick bites include jerk wings, beef patties, and coco bread.

  • Jerk Chicken served with fresh mixed vegetables and a side...

    Lindsay Bukowinski / Hartford Courant

    Jerk Chicken served with fresh mixed vegetables and a side of rice and peas. The jerk chicken is also available for a salad add-on.

  • Oxtail served with fried plantains, white rice and fresh mixed...

    Lindsay Bukowinski / Hartford Courant

    Oxtail served with fried plantains, white rice and fresh mixed vegetables.

  • Fried chicken meal served with fresh mixed vegetables and a...

    Lindsay Bukowinski / Hartford Courant

    Fried chicken meal served with fresh mixed vegetables and a side of rice and peas.

  • A view of the interior of The Russell Grab &...

    Lindsay Bukowinski / Hartford Courant

    A view of the interior of The Russell Grab & Go, a new lunch spot on Pratt Street.

  • Chicken vegetable soup is best when enjoyed with some hot...

    Lindsay Bukowinski / Hartford Courant

    Chicken vegetable soup is best when enjoyed with some hot pepper sauce.

of

Expand
Author
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

The Russell’s new daytime option is adding new flavor and spice to Pratt Street’s lunch hour.

Hugh Russell, who’s owned and operated his eponymous Hartford Caribbean restaurant and bar for 13 years, opened The Russell Grab and Go next door at 101 Pratt St. on July 10. The quick-service restaurant features salads, sandwiches, Jamaican and Caribbean entrees and snacks like beef patties, jerk wings and coco bread.

Russell served lunch at his first restaurant for a few years, he says, but found that diners didn’t always have time to sit and eat, or wait for made-to-order meals. He decided to focus on dinner, with plans to revisit lunch in the future.

Jerk Chicken served with fresh mixed vegetables and a side of rice and peas.  The jerk chicken is also available for a salad add-on.
Jerk Chicken served with fresh mixed vegetables and a side of rice and peas. The jerk chicken is also available for a salad add-on.

“I said, I’m just going to revamp, and hope that one day I’ll be able to do exactly what people want, which is grab and go.”

After about a year and a half of planning, Russell debuted his new concept, representing his Jamaican heritage with authentic dishes like oxtail, curry goat, jerk chicken and pork and pepper steak. Lunch entrees are pre-prepared and served hot, in two portion sizes (small, $8 to $10 and medium, $10 to $12) and come with choice of sides (rice and peas or white rice) and veggies (steamed or fresh mixed.) Fridays bring two specialty dishes: stew peas with salt pork and pepper shrimp.

The Russell Grab & Go is a new lunch spot on Pratt Street.
The Russell Grab & Go is a new lunch spot on Pratt Street.

The menu also offers two salads ($7), with the option to add jerk chicken; jerk and curry chicken sandwiches ($8 and $9) and sides ($2 to $8), like ackee and salt fish, fried dumpling, festival, escovitch fish and fried plantain. “Quick bites,” like beef, chicken, lentil and callaloo patties; soup of the day and mac and cheese, are $2.50 to $7. Beverages include Jamaican sodas and juices.

“I felt downtown was missing that flavor,” Russell says. “I wanted it to be an authentic experience.”

The grab-and-go space has about 25 seats, and guests have also chosen to dine in, Russell says. It also helps The Russell transition to its evening hours, as much of the furniture is on wheels and can be moved easily to prepare the area to accommodate the dinner and bar crowd.

Mac and Cheese is one of the quick bite options at The Russell.  Other quick bites include jerk wings, beef patties, and coco bread.
Mac and Cheese is one of the quick bite options at The Russell. Other quick bites include jerk wings, beef patties, and coco bread.

“The bar at night is so busy, I wanted to build something that was movable,” Russell says.

The Russell Grab and Go is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Russell says he’ll examine the hours in the future if customer demand dictates. Delivery is available through UberEATS and GrubHub. 860-727-4014 and therussellct.com/grab-and-go.

.galleries:after {
content: ”;
display: block;
background-color: #c52026;
margin: 16px auto 0;
height: 5px;
width: 100px;

}
.galleries:before {
content: “Food Videos”;
display: block;
font: 700 23px/25px Belizio,Georgia,’Droid Serif’,serif;
text-align: center;
color: #1e1e1e;
}