Dining Out: Fog Mountain Cafe

If you work downtown, you’re probably near the Fog Mountain Café at 10th and I, but you may not have spotted it. The restaurant, across from the EPA palace, is in the same building as the city parking garage and its nondescript entrance is easy to miss. The restaurant will be there two years in June, but even though I work on 9th a block away, I’d never been in it until this week.

But the food isn’t easy to miss at all – it’s outstanding.

There’s the New York City hot pastrami deli sandwich ($7.95), warm, crusty bread jammed with pastrami and spicy mustard, and the Noble French Dip au jus with jack cheese on a seeded, toasted baguette ($8.95). The tasty BLT ($6.95) features smoked bacon and a mayonnaise-herb mix. Other sandwiches, at $8.95 or less, include Black Forest ham, a roast beef-red onion cheese melt, roasted portabella mushroom and meatloaf. Salads include the house special ($4.95), the Classic Cobb ($8.95) and the Caesar at $6.95.

If you like candy – who doesn’t? – you  may like this place, and the prices all run about $8 per half-pound. There’s English toffee, white toffee, white chocolate peanut-butter squares, candied walnuts, candied pecans, peanut brittle and, last but definitely not least, chocolate peanut crunch (be still my beating heart!). Anything with chocolate and peanuts has to be good. Gift boxes are available from one pound to four pounds. The four-pounder costs $64.

The beverages include the usual soft drinks, and an array of teas. I favor the soft drinks, myself – tea reminds me of a hospital. But for tea lovers, there’s sweet and unsweetened black, raspberry, and sweetened green.

Breakfast is available, too.  Breakfast sandwiches include scrambled eggs and bacon ($4.95) and ham-and-eggs ($4.95).  They’ve also got quiche served with fresh fruit. The quiche varieties include mushroom, leek and swiss cheese ($4.95), and sage sausage, onion and swiss cheese ($4.95). There are scones and fresh muffins, too. Coffee, juices (orange or cranberry) and hot tea start at under $2.

Fog Mountain Café
Hours: 7AM – 3PM, Mon-Fri
Breakfast: 7AM – 10:30AM
Lunch: 10:30AM – closing.
Tel: 916 444-0144
www.fogmountain.com