It's easy to be skeptical of a seafood buffet in Augusta. After all, this is the community that bestowed the name Beech Island on a decidedly surf-challenged town.

So as enticing as all-you-can-eat seafood sounds, can a landlocked restaurant really pull it off?

Well, yes and no. Andrew's Restaurant in the Sheraton Augusta Hotel, which has a $21.95 seafood buffet Friday and Saturday evenings, offers a beautiful setting and charming ambiance. Its indoor waterfall, multi-tiered dining area, live jazz piano, spiffy chef in dress whites and wonderfully attentive service set the stage for a great dining event.

But the food is the star of the show, and the star was a bit lackluster during our visit. The buffet featured a soup-and-salad bar, cooked vegetables, macaroni and cheese, wild rice, a prime rib station, popcorn shrimp, boiled shrimp, salmon, oysters, crab legs and several desserts. For an extra $4, the buffet includes lobster.

The salad bar was wonderful, with fresh, crisp and colorful raw vegetables and fruits, though its prepared salads were too heavy on the mayo. The clam chowder was warm rather than hot, but more interestingly seasoned than most varieties.

Some of the vegetables were overcooked and overly salty, and the carving chef at the prime-rib station was undersupplied with beef, which made for long waits. We gave up on the wait at one point, though the chef's easy banter and pleasant disposition made the glitch easily forgivable.

The crab legs were terrific, well worth the elbow grease required to extract the tender, succulent meat. The moist, flavorful salmon was another winner. The boiled shrimp were watery, a sure sign of defrosting.

Our very amiable server was always close by. Clutter barely materialized before it was whisked away.

The desserts, an array of fresh-tasting cakes and a sundae bar, were delicious and eye-catching.

In a lesser atmosphere at a lower price, the entire buffet would have been a hit. But the elegant Andrew's sets a high standard that it didn't quite meet during our visit. Nevertheless, its crab legs were proof positive that wonderful seafood is indeed within reach in Augusta.

Mary Deriso is the retired general manager of the Pinnacle Club, a private dining club in Augusta. Christine Hurley Deriso is a writer whose children's book, Dreams to Grow On, is available in local bookstores and on Amazon.com.

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ON THE TOWN

The Eatery: Andrew's, 2651 Perimeter Parkway (map)

Hours: 6:30 a.m. to noon Sunday-Friday, 5-10 p.m. daily

Phone: (706) 855-8100

The Verdict: Serviceable seafood buffet in an elegant environment. 3 out of 5 stars.

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