Fog Eater Café
Deliciously creative fare in Mendocino
Just a couple months ago, the long-awaited Fog Eater Café opened up their doors in downtown Mendocino. We had been eyeing their “Coming Soon!” sign for what felt like forever. We had been listening to tales of savory delights from folks lucky enough to enjoy the creations of these young chefs on the verge setting up a more permanent space. We had been dreaming of the day we would finally be able to get a taste of their fabled food. When at last they were open for business in June, our schedules of course got in the way, as they will sometimes do, and we only just this week found our way through their door.
These guys are committed to truly local fare.
It was marvelous! Right when we walked in, we were greeted by the cheery staff and even cheerier interior. It was bright and fresh in there, with happy colors and tastefully hip décor. And the back patio was darling! Beautiful old, established plants surrounded the cute bistro tables, with a couple larger tables for groups. We snagged a table of lively teal on the patio and ordered a couple of things off the Happy Hour menu before they switched over to dinner for the evening. Relaxing under a swaying string of cafe lights, we sipped our glasses of house wine (the local Negroamaro was really nice) and waited for the first round of feasting to start, chatting and enjoying the balmy late summer evening.
Out came our smiling server with round one: hush puppies, deviled eggs, and boiled peanuts! The hush puppies were tasty, especially when liberally dredged through the delicious aioli sauce puddled underneath them. The deviled eggs were like miniature works of art, with pretty much the most beautiful presentation we had ever seen and spot-on flavors. The boiled peanuts were messy but tasty – nicely soft and creamy.
Hush puppies, deviled eggs, and boiled peanuts just begging us to dive right in.
Then on to round two!
We oohed over the soup of the day – tomato basil gazpacho. The colors were gorgeously bright, the sign of a truly fresh gazpacho, and it really packed a punch of flavor! On the side, we shared the pimento cheese with crostini. Made non-traditionally with cashew cheese, this creamy treat had a hint of spice that kept us coming back for more. The veggie of the day, purple peas and dragon beans with tomato butter, was stellar - the local legumes were grilled enough to have brought out their savory side, but still crisp enough to scoop up plenty of that yummy yummy butter. And the star of the show, the fried green tomato sliders, just made us ridiculously happy. Hearty slices of fried green beauties and a wonderfully fresh red cabbage slaw were sandwiched between satisfying buttermilk biscuits, with some magical sauce in the middle of it all tying every ingredient together perfectly.
Mmmmmmmmm…. sliders…
By this time we were perhaps understandably getting full, but we were there to celebrate life by golly, so we ordered another round of drinks and dessert to finish things off. The Frankly, Scarlett cocktail was different and fun, with dried rose petals sprinkled over its head of velvety foam. And the Mississippi mud pie was scrumptious – chocolate cookie crumble shell, lusciously smooth chocolate cream filling, and coconut cream whip – just the thing for a celebration.
Oh yeah, baby.
By the time we left, we were both highly pleased with the evening and seriously stuffed, yet we still couldn’t help but start thinking about our next visit to Fog Eater Café. As we split off to our separate cars, we called out to each other in farewell, “Let’s come back again soon!”
Look for this charming café on the western end of Albion Street, right next to Trillium Café. They’re open for Happy Hour 4:00-5:00 Wednesday-Friday, Dinner 5:00-9:00 Wednesday-Sunday, and Brunch 10:00-2:00 Sunday. No reservations. Definitely worth a visit!
Head over to Fog Eater Cafe for a truly fun evening!!
Written by Laura Hockett