ARAX Fine Lebanese Cuisine & Wood Fire Pizza, or just simply ARAX, holds a special place in my heart. It’s a restaurant that I’d first been introduced to more than 15 years ago and is pretty much the only place on the North Shore I’d make the approximately 40 minute drive to on a whim.

I find the woodfire oven at ARAX somewhat enthralling. A magic transformation portal that turns often simple ingredients into palate-pleasing platters of pizza perfection. Nowadays for me, the term “woodfire pizza” holds the same sort of meaning as the word “organic” does; there’s an implication of superior quality over the standard variety, which unfortunately doesn’t always deliver. This is one of those places, I assure you, that delivers on that implied sense of superior quality. Read more »

I heart pizza. In my eyes, even when it’s bad, it’s still alright. I mean, how can you go wrong when crusty bread and warm melted cheese serve as the foundation on which most pizzas, great and small, are built apon.

Though pizzas are quite readily available at many a restaurant, over the phone, the Internet and heck, even in a shopping mall food court or the freezer section of any supermarket if you’re desperate enough, there’s a certain sense of satisfaction to be had when attempting to make pizza at home, especially for the first time. Read more »