Romantic music and delicious Italian and Greek cuisine can be the setup for a special evening meal at Luigi's Italian restaurant on Broad Street. (Michael Holahan/Staff)
Luigi's is as much a tradition as Masters
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.
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.
ON THE TOWN
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
