Wine selection is the star at Cellar 46

Mercer Island oenophiles — or even amateur wine weenies — probably already know about this 2-year-old wine bar, restaurant and retail shop in the Mercer Building, around the corner from Bennett's Pure Food Bistro. The shop holds frequent weekend tastings and its well-stocked shelves showcase a splendid selection of wines.

A restaurant-cum-wine shop seems like such a logical notion it's surprising there aren't more of them — but maybe that's because it's no easy feat to pull off. Running a retail shop requires different talents than running a restaurant, and at Cellar 46, the restaurant side doesn't impress quite as much as the retail side. The menu plays it safe with wine-friendly appetizers and homey entrees, but even so the kitchen often comes up short.

Almost all of the starters feature cheese, a good idea for a wine bar, and at happy hour they are all half-off — an even better notion. Had I paid the non-discount $12 for the antipasti plate, I might be miffed to find that "artisan meats" means lots of pepperoni and three slices of hammy prosciutto wrapped around pickled asparagus spears. But for $6 I was inclined to dwell on the positives: olives, caperberries and marinated artichoke hearts plus three ripe, room-temperature cheeses (Brie, Humboldt Fog and Kerrygold Ivernia).

Those cheeses deserved better than stale baguette slices and Carr's Table Water crackers, something more like the brittle fruit-and-nut crostini that were perfect for scooping up goat-cheese fondue. That mini-pot of molten cheese also came with apple slices; at half-off the regular $9 price, I was willing to overlook the fruit's brown edges.

Dungeness crab starred in the best of the entrees sampled. The pair of chubby, well-seasoned crab cakes happily nested in lemon dill aioli could have been crispier, but the ample plate included a wonderful assortment of roasted vegetables, as well as balsamic-dressed greens embellished with blue cheese and candied walnuts.

The crab cakes survived a recent menu revamping that eliminated crepes from the roster entirely. That's a pity since the strawberry-filled sweet crepe garnished with fresh basil and a mini-crepe topped with crème fraîche and paddlefish roe were standouts.

If I were going to vote anything off the island it would be the lackluster red-wine braised beef made with meat too lean to contribute much richness to the sauce. The meatloaf has more character, but mine was overcooked and dry. I was thankful the rough tasting wine-spiked jus was served on the side.

I hoped "Drunken Chicken" would be an improvement over its predecessor on the menu (a dull skinless, boneless breast stuffed with apple, grapes and chevre), but it was even less distinguished. Described as "oven-roasted with fresh lemon, rosemary, white wine demi-glace," the leg and thigh quarter sported skin as pale as Madonna's and a bland sauce that was a long way from demi-glace. It's puzzling how this piece of poultry could have been cooked in an oven without the faintest browning of the skin.

Cellar 46's great strength is wine. Flights are popular and those, too, are an especially good deal at happy hour, when each of the four-taste flights is just $10. All wines poured by the glass are discounted 25 percent from 4 to 6 p.m. as well.

But your choices aren't limited to the wine list. For a $15 dollar corkage fee you can pluck any bottle from the hundreds on the shelves — including those in the temperature-controlled "Premium Room," where pricier selections, large-format bottles and hard-to-find cult wines like Screaming Eagle are housed.

We spied an Italian muscat that we thought might go well with dessert: chocolate-dipped cream puffs and a lovely baked pear stuffed with chevre and fig preserves. "Good idea," said the waitress, "Especially since we're waiving corkage tonight." Something that would have been nice to know at the beginning of the meal.

Providence Cicero: providencecicero@aol.com