For Augustans, the Masters is our proudest tradition. But, hey, occasionally we do have to eat something other than those delicious sandwiches in green paper bags - and a favorite restaurant for locals and visitors alike is Luigi's, a downtown tradition for more than 50 years.

Luigi's offers six appetizers, three soups, lots of pasta dishes, pizzas, a few steaks and some Italian and Greek entrees. The portions are large and leave little room for appetizers or desserts, so I often plan to take home half my entree so I can enjoy some of the other dishes as well.

Appetizers include stuffed grape leaves, tiropittes (cheese puffs), spanakopittes (spinach puffs) and other typical Greek fare, all at a reasonable $5.50.

The avgolemono ($2 a cup, $3 a bowl) is a Greek soup made from chicken broth, egg yolks and lemon juice with rice. It is a fabulous-tasting soup that is tart and good.

We always start our meal at Luigi's with a small Greek salad ($3), a delightful blend of oil and vinegar and the perfect combination of herbs, topped with lots of feta cheese, a pepper and an olive or two.

My favorite dish on the menu is baked lasagna with Italian sausage ($10). Although it is also offered with meatballs, I have never been able to resist the combination of sausage and fennel seeds that makes it so irresistible.

The massive portion covers the large oval plate, so you should have some left for the next day's lunch. I try to hide the box in the refrigerator so it doesn't ``disappear'' before morning.

Baked Greek-style chicken ($11.50) and char-broiled T-bone steak ($15.50) are among the most-often-ordered dishes when we eat at Luigi's. The half chicken is baked in a mixture of olive oil, lemon and herbs and arrives crispy on the outside and tender and falling-off-the-bone good on the inside. The T-bone steak dwarfs the large platter on which it is served. This is every T-bone lover's dream. Cooked to order, it is hard to finish because it's so big, but the flavor is delicious.

The pizzas are good and popular with adults and children. I have several friends who can't eat at Luigi's without ordering the toasted ravioli with meat sauce.

Baklava ($1.50 a slice) is a sweet dessert, popular in Greece, that consists of layers of phyllo pastry, drenched in butter, and sprinkled with spices and chopped nuts and soaked in a honey lemon syrup. There is nothing richer in the world!

There's something irresistible about the food at Luigi's - whether you've lived here all your life or you're only in Augusta once a year.

Restaurant: Luigi's, 590 Broad St. (map)

Hours: Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday-Friday, dinner 5-11 p.m. Monday-Saturday; open 5-11 p.m. Sunday for Masters

Phone: 722-4056