The name
The restaurant is named for Russell’s late grandmother, Alfreda. She grew up on a farm during the Great Depression, and Russell remembers her stories about the food her family raised and the work involved in producing it.
Alfreda is not an attempt to recreate his grandmother’s cooking. Her influence is broader than a specific recipe or dish. She gave Russell an understanding that food has a source, that raising it takes work, and that a meal can be simple without being careless.
That thinking fits the way Russell cooks now. The kitchen uses a focused set of ingredients, pays attention to how they are prepared, and avoids adding extras simply because it can. The same approach applies to the restaurant itself. Service should be knowledgeable but not formal, and guests should be able to settle in without feeling that the experience needs an explanation. Alfreda is a neighborhood restaurant for sharing well-made food without the formality.
The chef
Russell is a Washington, DC, native who spent his high school and college years in Erie, Pennsylvania. A neighborhood New York–style pizzeria in Erie gave him his first real point of reference for pizza. He liked the crisp crust, flavorful dough, straightforward toppings, and the fact that the restaurant could be taken seriously without feeling formal.
His professional career began in DC with the Black Restaurant Group. He later joined Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant group, where he worked for ten years. Russell became executive chef of The Source and helped open CUT in Georgetown. Those kitchens required consistency, technical discipline, and close attention to every part of a dish.
Over time, Russell became more interested in simpler food. After years of building complex dishes in fine-dining restaurants, he wanted to see how much he could remove without losing flavor.
During the pandemic, while working as a private chef, he began making pizza for the family he cooked for. He tested different flours, fermentation times, hydration levels, cheeses, tomatoes, and baking temperatures. Pizza soon became more than an occasional project. It was the kind of cooking he wanted to keep doing.
Russell returned to the New York and New Jersey pizzas he had always liked, but he was not interested in copying a single restaurant or regional style. Alfreda’s pizza developed through repeated testing and through his preference for dough with a crisp exterior, a chewy center, and enough flavor to remain noticeable beneath the toppings.
The craft
Pizza at Alfreda starts roughly two days before it is served. The process begins with feeding the sourdough starter. Once the leaven is ready, the dough is mixed and placed in cold fermentation overnight. The following day, it is divided into individual portions and allowed to proof for another night. It is ready to bake on the third day. The additional water and extended fermentation affect both the flavor and texture of the crust. It bakes up crisp on the outside while remaining soft and chewy inside.
The tomato sauce is equally direct. Russell selects tomatoes for their flavor, passes them through a food mill, and seasons them with salt. The pizza does not need a long list of toppings. Each pie is built so the dough, tomato, cheese, and other ingredients remain in balance.
The pizzas take their main cues from New York and New Jersey styles, with thin crusts and familiar combinations. The menu includes red and white pies, cheese pizza, seasonal options, and a selection of additional toppings. Keeping the choices focused allows the the kitchen to make each pizza consistently.
Love Family
Russell built Alfreda alongside his wife, Alisa — founder of Safe Start Child — and their two daughters. When his daughter, Aerin, was diagnosed with celiac disease, he began working on a gluten-free pizza she could eat.
Aerin’s Pizza is prepared and baked in a dedicated area. Russell approached it as a separate pizza with its own recipe and process, rather than trying to make the sourdough crust work without gluten.
Alfreda’s kitchen is not a certified gluten-free facility. Guests with celiac disease, severe allergies, or other dietary concerns should speak with the team before ordering so the kitchen can explain its preparation practices.
Alfreda's kitchen is not a certified gluten-free facility. Please tell us about severe allergies before ordering.
