It was déjà vu all over again. Hot summer afternoon, in town with lunch pal Gary, wanting an al fresco meal with a view of more than cars and trucks. We were closer to the river than to DePasquale Square, so Parkside it was, just as it had been under similar circumstances the prior summer.

There is passing traffic, but it’s well-behaved South Main Street traffic, light on the honking and heavy on the classy sports cars, the location being down the hill from RISD and Brown. Your dominant view is of the park between the courthouse and the river and Riverwalk. You get all kinds of people-watching opportunities from the four outdoor café tables at Parkside.

Coming at lunch as we did, there was an expected wait for the limited al fresco seating. But when a window table opened up, we grabbed it. Fortunate. I got sunshine and a view of the entertaining interior. Art-apparel by Nicole Romano was framed at my left; misty, and earth-tone abstracts were across the room on the muted yellow wall. Wiggy, colorful ceramics were on shelves here and there, and tiny blown-glass-shaded lamps hung above the window tables. If you didn’t know, you could make an educated guess that chef/proprietor Steven G. Davenport is a RISD grad, 1983 — from its culinary program, no less. But it is his wife, Donna, who gets credit for designing the place.

However light-hearted the noisy atmosphere is, this is a pretty classy joint for lunch. Even with a bargain choice, your cloth napkin isn’t replaced by paper. The bargain I’m referring to is the quarter-chicken plate, which comes with sweet potato fries and side salad for $4.25 — no typo. Parkside bills itself as a "Rotisserie & Bar," so the loss leader makes sense. Other cheap-to-moderate lunch items range from sandwich and fries plates ($5.75-$6.95) to "pizzettes" ($5.95-$7.95). Lest the expense-account clientele feel neglected, the lunch specials included a $22.95 lobster dinner on the day we came. Of course, the wine list offers a $95 Carparzo Brunello di Montalcino, as well as a $16 Sakonnet blush.

But we were pleased even before we started perusing the menu. Stella Artois and Magic Hat No. 9 on tap? A pint of each, thank you. Sesame seeds on the chewy French bread? How nice to dip it into olive oil that’s rich with flavor — and already on the table, so you don’t have to trouble the busy waitstaff when you spurn the butter. The soup that day was Tuscan white bean ($2.95/$3.25), full of de-cased Tuscan veal sausage. It was hearty enough that I didn’t much mind waiting for the white truffle mascarpone crostini that our server forgot in the mid-day rush.

There were only four starters, besides soup, on the lunch menu, but they are favorites, such as spicy crab cakes and Cajun-seasoned calamari. Appetizer prices, and presumably sizes, go up at dinner and their number doubles to include Thai dumplings, clams, and mussels cassoulet. We tried an interesting sounding combination, polenta and eggplant ($5.95). Two thick slices of the grilled vegetable alternated with slices of a firm cornmeal and ricotta mixture, flavored a bit with sun-dried tomatoes. There was plenty of balsamic reduction to wipe up with every bite.

Since every rotisserie chicken or duck is a signature dish at Parkside, we had to check that out. Gary dutifully volunteered, trouper he is, and had the "flame-roasted" half chicken ($8.95). He could have chosen a balsamic and olive oil marinade or a lemon and garlic preparation, but the "zippy green sauce" designation intrigued him. The accompaniment in a radicchio cup was an acceptable pesto, zip-free but tasty. Some would reasonably say it was brightened with parsley, though I usually feel that any addition besides Parmesan, ground pine nuts, and garlic displaces a potential basil leaf and qualifies as adulteration. The chicken had that greaseless crispness outside and moistness inside, even the white meat, that makes searing such a sensible finishing touch. The side salad was not only a mesclun mix, but topped with a goodly amount of crumbled Gorgonzola.

With only three pastas on the lunch menu, a scallop and chive ravioli special ($14.95) looked attractive. Four fat ravioli, too rich to enjoy many of, were pleasantly overwhelmed by numerous other compatible ingredients, the foremost of which was, sensibly, scads of scallops. There were also halved cherry tomato for nice tart bursts, and plenty of thick spears of prosciutto with little or no fat. Four big sautéed shrimp were the real cherries on top. This was all under a creamy but not cloying sauce, jazzed up a bit with dill and capers.

As for dessert, are you kidding? The kitchen-made chocolate mousse cake, crème brûlée, and banana tart will have to wait for another visit. Maybe in September, when the park across the street is filled with Convergence statuary. Maybe then, the view will give me the patience to wait for a sidewalk table.

Bill Rodriguez can be reached at billrod@reporters.net