CHAUMONT — What a find!

Every little town in Northern New York has its own little hometown pizza place.

But Chaumont has something really special — Wise Guys Pizza & Pasta.

What's so great about Wise Guys? Here's the short list: the minestrone, the garlic knots, the antipasto salad, the pizza dough, the pizza toppings, the pasta dishes, the special fried dough dessert — not to mention Bridget the waitress and Amy and Andy the owners.

It's a welcoming, nonglitzy family spot on Main Street that's been open for barely a year and a half. One wall has been painted mural-style by talented kids from the local high school. A new floor with the red, green and white colors of the Italian flag complements the red and white checkered table cloths.

A huge overhead projector was filling the back wall with the Weather Channel.

On Saturday afternoons, they play free movies for area kids.

Family is the name of the game for Amy and Andy Williams. The back of their staff shirts read, "It's a family thing." In fact, the name of the restaurant was inspired by their two boys, whom they affectionately refer to as their "wise guys." The boys work at the restaurant weekdays after school.

It was a cold night outside, but Bridget gave us a warm greeting as soon as we were seated. She was waiting tables as well as working the counter, where customers streamed in throughout the evening for takeout orders.

At the same time, delivery people were heading out the door at a steady pace with their big red insulated pizza delivery pouches. They don't just serve the little village of Chaumont — they'll make the 15-minute drive to Watertown or Cape Vincent to get their product to their customers.

Fried-food fanatics can choose from chicken tenders, cheese sticks, french fries and onion rings. We were there for the Italian stuff, so began our evening with their homemade garlic knots ($4), which set the tone for the evening.

In a word, fantastic. It's all about the dough, their excellent homemade dough.

A basket full of these light and airy morsels, tied in the shape of little knots, was dusted with some kind of magic and set over an amazing garlic sauce.

The sauce is made in-house with fresh garlic, lots of it, looking like it could burn your face off, but was as round and mellow as could be. A full-bodied marinara sauce that was served on the side was a precursor of good things to come, as well.

The only soup on the menu is minestrone ($3.99), an Italian vegetable soup. Amy's minestrone is bold and full-flavored. Instead of a garden full of vegetables, it was loaded simply with tomatoes, spinach and small tubular pasta in an herb-laden garlic chicken stock with a sprinkling of Parm. The large portion could truly have been a meal in itself.

Although we came primarily to try the newly introduced Italian pasta dishes, a small deluxe pizza ($10.99) and a large antipasto salad ($7) seemed in order.

The antipasto was plenty for four, mostly romaine lettuce with salami, ham, provolone, olives, tomato, onion, artichokes and pepperoncini. A slightly sweet house balsamic dressing made with extra virgin olive oil was tasty and served on the side in a large cruet.

The pizza was great. Once again, the homemade dough made the difference.

The crust was thin, fresh and flavorful.

There are 16 toppings available, including seven meat and six fresh veggie choices. We tried chicken, broccoli, pepperoni, portobello mushrooms, Black Forest ham and cheese, all outstanding.

You'd think the dough recipe would be a secret, but it's written in the menu and posted on the wall. I guess Andy is saying, "Go ahead, I dare you ..."

Here it is in case you're looking for something to do today:

50 lb. premium spring harvest flour, 27 lb. crystal clear spring water, 48 oz. extra virgin olive oil, 1 lb. Maui Gold raw sugar, 1 lb. Kosher salt, yeast and 72 hours of "careful aging."

Amy and Andy introduced their Italian pasta dishes two months ago. There are only four, so we got to try each of them, served with the zesty homemade tomato sauce and Italian bread.

The bread arrived warm from their stone oven; it was crusty on the outside and steamy on the inside, served with soft, creamy butter.

Cappellini with sausage ($8.25) was a generous portion of the smaller-than-spaghetti noodle, drenched with their hearty, long-simmered tomato sauce.

I'm pretty fussy about sausage, and these were as good as they get, with subtle herbs and spices.

Rigatoncini with meatballs ($8.25) was equally good. Rigatoncini is a small rigatoni noodle with a ridged surface. The same wonderful red sauce covered the large plate. The meatballs were definitely homemade, with judicious use of herbs and spices, just like the sauce.

Chicken Parmesan ($8.99) was good. The chicken was thin and crispy (quickly deep fried, we figured) and not too cheesy. Their tomato sauce covered the spaghetti served alongside the chicken.

Jumbo ravioli ($7.99) was a plateful of large, round ricotta-filled raviolis served perfectly al dente, just like the pasta on the other dishes. Once again, the hearty, robust sauce stole the show. For a slight extra charge, we added a couple of meatballs to the plate.

Amy put her creative talents to work on a special dessert, crafting the pizza dough into a heavenly version of fried dough. The dough was first rolled out, buttered, sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon and raisins, then rolled up, fried and sugar-glazed.

Again, it was enough for the entire table and reasonably priced at $4.99. It's not officially on the menu yet and doesn't have a name. But I'm sure if you ask for "that sugary fried dough thing with the raisins" they'll know what you're talking about.

Four adults ate very well for $75 before tip. Several kids ate well, too, because we all ended up taking home microwaveable containers with our leftovers.

Wise Guys also has hot subs on the menu: sausage, meatball, chicken Parm, Philly steak and Italian chicken. They've got wings and boneless wings, too, and are now offering beer and wine.

It appears the hardworking Williams family has a good thing going in Chaumont. They're passionate about their cooking, their customers and their community.

We recommend a trip to Chaumont to experience their extraordinary food and hometown hospitality.

You can contact Walter E. Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.

Wise Guys Pizza & Pasta

12113 Route 12E (Main Street)

Chaumont

649-5200

A hometown pizza and pasta place that's definitely a slice above the rest

HOURS: 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday

3 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

3 to 9 p.m. Sunday

Closed Mondays

Homemade dough makes their garlic knots the best we've ever had.

Pizzas are made with the same superior dough. You can choose from 16 fresh toppings.

Minestrone soup is a meal in itself — get some of their fabulous warm, crusty Italian bread, too

Try their new Italian dishes: chicken Parmesan, jumbo ravioli or pasta with their robust tomato sauce with homemade meatballs or sausage.

Rating: 4 forks