Lunch Very Full-Filing At Kirkland Roaster

Kirkland Roaster, 111 Central Way, Kirkland. 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday (dining room closes 2:30 to 5 p.m.); noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (dining room closes 3 to 5 p.m.). Bar open until 2 a.m. 827-4400.

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If you arrive at the right time, the first thing you'll encounter on the way to the Kirkland Roaster and Alehouse is a tub or two of steaming barley, sitting outside on the sidewalk in giant plastic garbage cans.

The delicious scent is a residue of beer-making, and a reminder that even though this slick downtown Kirkland eatery is a popular restaurant, it's also a small working brewery.

For me, the main attraction to the Kirkland Roaster has always been the Hale's Moss Bay Ale, by the pint, sipped at one of the front tables, where you can look out the window at downtown Kirkland.

But recently I went beyond the bar, to the dining room to sample lunch fare.

The Kirkland Roaster, which opened in February 1987, is one in a string of restaurants created out of the celebrated partnership between Tim Firnstahl and Mick McHugh, who opened several Seattle-area restaurants. The two divided their holdings two years ago and Firnstahl now owns the Roaster.

The Roaster relies heavily on a vertical-spit roaster, which uses gas wicks to self-baste meat, making it more moist and flavorful.

The dining room is lined in dark wood paneling and has a nice view of Lake Washington. The decor is warm and brassy, with copper-topped tables. Empty wine bottles line shelves near the ceiling.

Lunch starts with a miniature loaf of bread served on a rustic cutting board. A half-dozen local beer favorites are available in English-style pint glasses,including Hale's, brewed next door.

For appetizers, the calamari rings ($4.95) are fried and extremely tender. The fried mozzarella ($4.95) is good, but the marinara sauce that comes with it is plain.

The Hale's beer-batter fish-and-chips ($6.85, large; $5.55, small) were moist and flaky, with a crispy fried outside.

The herbed-lamb-roast baguette ($6.95) was stuffed with large pieces of lamb. As a sandwich, it's almost impossible to eat gracefully. Big pieces of meat and sauteed onions fall out whenever you pick up the crusty bread. My only complaint was that the meat wasn't trimmed of its fatty rind, and I had to do surgery with a knife to get at some good parts.

The light meat sampler ($8.75) is, despite its name, an extravagant lunchtime meal, bigger than many dinners. The roasted turkey and chicken combination is served with two different mini-gravy boats of sauces and an especially good cranberry sauce on the side.

My dining partner enjoyed the meal, but said if he were doing it over he would get the quarter-chicken alone ($5.95), since the chicken was the best of the two meats.

All meals are beautifully presented, with fat french fries and garnishes of frilly kale.

We indulged in two desserts. The ``to-die-for'' devil's-food cake ($3.50) is so dense that it's like eating pure chocolate; if that isn't enough for you, there's a dollop of whipped cream on the side. But we especially enjoyed the cheesecake ($2.95), an extremely rich and smooth wedge of pie that has a thin crust and a creamy top.