When word got out that Hoss's Steak and Seafood restaurant on Route 8 in Hampton would close and, after major remodeling, re-open on June 19 as Marzoni's Brick Oven & Brewing Co., the locals had plenty to talk about. Brick Oven and Brewing! Just tell us when!

I got to Marzoni's five weeks later, expecting the huge crowds to have thinned out a bit. They hadn't. Hourlong waits were still on the board. Entering, we passed through the elegant yet rustic main dining room, with its wood-plank vaulted ceiling and dark wood beams. The Tiffany lampshades added a touch of class, as did the towering, open, four-sided brick fireplace, a remnant of Hoss's. We settled in at one of the three high-top dining tables to the left of the double-sided bar, with its flat-screen TVs above the overhead wine racks providing news, sports and other diversions. The high-top seating to the right of the bar offered a good view of the open brick pizza oven and its bustling crew.

Currently, the actual brewing is done at the first Marzoni's, in Duncansville, Blair County -- with deliveries coming in to Hampton twice a week. I've never before had, or overheard, so many intelligent, passionate discussions about beer. Oenophiles, take note:Beer connoisseurs are every bit as serious about beer as you may be about wine. Problem is, Marzoni's seems unconcerned with wine lovers, offering five ounces of wine in a six-ounce glass -- wine almost to the brim. Forget checking for "legs," don't "swirl" and, when searching for "bouquet," try not to inhale the wine itself!

Ah, well, back to beer. Want samples? For $6.95 you can order the "beer caddy" -- a circular, two-level tray (no spills) with all six of the "regular" offerings, each glass a full six ounces: Three Rivers Gold, Marzoni's Amber, Wildwood Wheat (with a slice of lemon), North Park Pale Ale, Avalanche IPA ("Aggressively bitter with a floral hop aroma") and Stone Mason Stout ("Creamy and dark with a sweet, dry- roasted finish"). Prost! For $2 more, you can get samples of the Brewer's Choices, which change from week to week.

On one visit, I sat with a couple who literally travel the world for the best-brewed beers. They took the eight-glass sampler and an hour or so later, had settled for the Belgian Golden Ale, which had the most alcohol (the regular offerings run from 3.7 percent to 6.9 percent), was very malty and, better still, a good reproduction of the Belgian Golden Ale brewed in one of a half dozen or so Trappist monasteries in Belgium. "It's all in the yeast," they said, gazing at the glass as though expecting it to perform.

And, should you happen to fall in love with one of the regular drafts, or the "Brewer's Choices," you can take it home in a 64-ounce glass jug -- or "growler" -- for only $8.95 per refill.

As to the Brick Oven, I had heard some negative comments from "no flavor" to "burned black." The manager explained the latter. Brand new ovens take a while to become seasoned. He has the oven crew scrape repeatedly, but it does take time. My first order, the Marzoni's Special, with pepperoni and sausage, was blackened, but tasted just fine. You can order four-cut eight-inch ($7.95), six-cut 12-inch ($9.95) or the eight-cut 16-inch ($14.95). The eight-inch comes only in thick crust, but the immediate question when you order the other sizes is "thick or thin, wheat or white?" You can also design your own pizza, with the suggestion that three toppings, or fewer, will bring out the best.

Some good pizza choices: Portobello Pesto, Cheese Steak, with sliced rib-eye, cheese sauce, peppers, onions and mozzarella, and my new favorite, Chicken Club, which came to my table looking like a salad on pizza, with lots of lettuce and cut-up tomatoes, plenty of tasty chicken mingled with chopped-up bacon and red onion. You might, however, ask for a few extra napkins. Messy and scrumptious!

Beyond the specialties of beer and brick oven, Marzoni's is sometimes uncertain with main dishes. Of the two daily soup offerings, the pasta e fagioli might benefit from more feta cheese (not offered by the server) and, perhaps, more garlic. As presented, we encountered an overwhelming flavor of chili con carne. Margherita's penne ($7.95) and the rigatoni classico ($7.95) were both tasty, though the twirls of mozzarella cheese in the Margherita's were somewhat stiff and hard to chew. The penne pasta, however, was truly al dente and every bite of it a treat. The rigatoni classico with small, flavorful chunks of Italian sausage, mixed with roasted peppers and onions atop noodles, was a hearty dish, finished off with a house marinara sauce and grated asiago cheese. Authentic, delicious and, truly, classico.

The Cajun chicken pasta, according to the menu, offers "Roasted chicken," but what we found looked like deli cold cuts but not as tasty and also rather tough and gritty. Want the item that just may be "tops" on the entire menu? Try the Chesapeake filet ($21.95), a six-ounce filet mignon, medium rare, with a "house recipe" crab cake, potatoes and crispy cooked vegetables, served with choice or soup or salad. Ordering fish? Tell the server you'd like it medium rare. My first salmon and tuna dinners were dry, overcooked and nearly flavorless. On my next visit, I ordered the pistachio-crusted salmon "a bit on the rare side" and I enjoyed every bite of it. Salmon about as good as it can get.

Do save room for some of the most delightful desserts in town. The menu offers three regular items and one dessert special of the day, all at a reasonable $3.95. I'd go back for two of the specials -- tiramisu cake with its delicious cake layers and a heavily (or heavenly) rich mascarpone cream and a hint of coffee. Or the Black Forest cake, with its rich chocolate layers interleaved with whipped cream and cherries. If you love a heavy fudge flavor and some of the smoothest, sweetest vanilla ice cream you'll ever taste, order a "chocolate fudge mountain." New York style cheesecake and chocolate peanut butter pie are the other two daily offerings and both are everything you hoped they would be.