Oh, Legend, the love-hate relationship I have with you.

As soon as the temperature grazes 70 degrees, your sweet Hefeweizen aroma seductively beckons me to your expansive deck.

Before the clock strikes happy hour, I'm parked in one of your plastic patio chairs, sipping icy cold beer and soaking up sun and conversation.

But the inevitable happens -- I get hungry. And my infatuation ends.

Lager and outdoor seating created Legend's original appeal. Its no-frills pub fare has always been a reasonably tasty means of creating a healthy beer base.

These days, Legend's pub grub has acquired some ambitious friends. No, not fancy variations of nachos or burgers. Try homemade tuna sausage rolls ($6.50) with cucumber relish and orange soy glaze and huckleberry-rubbed duck breast ($15). Yes, I said tuna sausage and duck.

I'm all for refreshing a menu, but two recent visits (one dinner, one lunch) showed an over-reliance on the same ingredients, failed execution and ill-conceived flavor combinations.

Blackening spices, Swiss, corn salsa and sauerkraut were rehashed in multiple dishes. Other advertised ingredients never made it to the plate. Worse yet, oddball combinations created flavors like nothing I've had (or want to have again).

Take our dinner visit's strawberry barbecue duck crepes ($7.50), for example. Regardless of the duck's being overcooked and the crepes as thick as omelets, unnecessary add-ons -- "mushroom ceviche," roasted corn salsa and strawberry barbecue sauce created a flavor train wreck.

The mushrooms tasted like lime juice past its prime. There was nothing roasted about the corn. And the sauce, while strongly flavored, didn't taste like strawberry or barbecue.

Even the basics, such as our chicken sandwich ($8), disappointed. Topped with barely melted Swiss and overcooked bacon, the unseasoned chicken breast was dry, despite the thoughtful addition of mini mustard and mayo packets. Accompanying German potato salad, on the other hand, was excessively oily.

Blackened tuna ($14), medium-rare as requested, mustered a tickle of spiciness. However, the un-roasted corn salsa from the crepes made another appearance, adding nothing to the dish. I assumed the weak cream-wine froth surrounding the tuna was the advertised beurre blanc.

The menu instructed us to "ask about dessert!" but we passed after our waitress described the selections as "chocolate cake and some crepe thing."

One would assume lunch, usually a less trying culinary challenge, would be Legend's forte, but poor service and flawed execution marred a second midday visit.

Upon learning it would take 45 minutes for food after being seated (during a weekday lunch, mind you), I asked why. The host shrugged and said, "I guess we don't have enough people. Inside or out?"

An hour later, our quesadillas ($6) with shrimp ($4 extra) arrived lush with melted cheeses. Served with tangy salsa, they hit the spot. However, a few diced shrimp don't equal $4.

Had I not ordered chicken ($2 extra) on my Mediterranean salad ($7.50), the missing fruit salsa would have left me with a bowl of greens and croutons.

The sautéed beef sandwich ($7.50) was smothered in so much Swiss, we almost missed the unpleasant pinkness of the meat strips. The pub fries (sautéed potato wedges) ranged from raw to burned and tasted somehow fishy.

We all know Legend's beer ($4.50 a pint) is the reason to go. Many fans have personal steins behind the bar.

Come the next warm evening, I'll probably be back on Legend's patio because the skyline views and beer-soaked chatter are hard to resist. I just wish that after a couple of pints, I didn't have to leave to find some decent food.

Legend Brewing Co.

Rating: ½

Where: 321 W. Seventh St.

Phone: (804) 232-3446

 Web site: www.legendbrewing.com

Smoking: Smoking and nonsmoking sections; smoking allowed on patio

Hours: 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday, 12:30-10 p.m. Sunday

 Entree prices: $7.50-$19

Check for two: Dinner: $57 (shared appetizer, two entrees, alcohol, tax and gratuity).

Lunch: $39 (shared appetizer, two entrees, drinks, tax and gratuity).

Editor's note: When the "Dining Out" reviewer rates a restaurant with anything less than two stars, a second visit is required.