When my two birding buddies and I wandered into the Fog Bar & Café (328 Main St., Rockland), after a long hard day of bird watching in Pemaquid, we were some parched and mighty hungry. This was Jacquie’s and my first time, but Mark was a veteran of Fog with a single visit under his belt.

The Bevs

If I waited to write this review until I tried all 28 beers that Fog offers up, it would have taken too long and I would have been too sauced to write it! But if beer is your thing rest assured, Fog offers perhaps Rockland’s largest selection.

Among the eight draft beers there is the aptly named Delirium Noel that crushes the competition weighing in at a hefty 10 percent alcohol content. If you prefer to find your hoppy dream inside a bottle, be prepared to peer into some 20 varieties. Fog has entire categories of beers that I have never heard of such as herbed ales, sour ales, and Saisons. Fog offers half-pours of their tap beers thus making it easy to become an instant, yet sober, expert.

Being more of a wine person, as are Jacquie and Mark, we were much pleased by the bottle of Italian red we shared. In addition to the ample and unique wine list, Fog also offers Featured Drinks that all looked worthy of a try.

The Grinds

Food at Fog comes on Small Plates or as entrees. Small Plates range in price from $5 for the daily soup to $12 for duck nachos and pan seared scallops (more about the scallops later). In between there are rabbit rolls ($10), fried green tomatoes ($11), duck wings with sauces ($10), and a beer mac n’ cheese ($8).

My two famished birding buddies pounced on the wings like a duck on a June bug and they were some smackin! I immediately had a major case of order envy over their duck. Indeed, when there was just one lonely wing left there was an awkward moment where Mark looked at Jacquie, Jacquie looked at me, I looked at Mark, Jacquie looked at Mark, I looked at Jacquie…. Thinking quickly I asked, “Isn’t that John Travolta at the bar?” While they were duped I swooped.

We also ordered the fried green tomatoes because, well, you just have to order fried green tomatoes whenever you see them. They were breaded and fried just fine and commingled with three different sauces one of which, though I cannot say which one, had me swooning.

Entrees range in price from $13 for the all-natural beef burger to $22 for the seared diver sea scallops perched a top a mound of kohlrabi puree and roasted root vegetables. In between there is steak ($21), pork chops ($19), seared chicken breast ($17), pan-fried haddock ($17), gnocchi and another pasta dish each for $14. Something for everyone I would wager.

I dove straight for the scallops and all six of them were seared to near perfection. The puree was advertised as kohlrabi but looked and tasted for all the world to me like mashed potatoes, rather good mashers I might add. Yet, I also need to tell you that if a kohlrabi hit me in the face I wouldn’t have a clue as to what it was. Roasted root vegetables? I looked high and low for those and found nary a one. What I did find were several strands of shredded raw carrot. So, while not exactly as advertised at the end of the day, one cannot embed well-seared scallops into good mashed whatevers and not have a hit. For $22 I would have expected 9 rather than just six scallops, which would have helped because Jacquie and Mark flew in like hungry ospreys and snagged two!

We never got to dessert; too full and too tired to tarry. But if the Small Plates and the Entree we enjoyed are indicative, I have every confidence that chef Nicholas Oscar Krunkkala’s desserts are equally as good.

The Atmos

The atmosphere in Fog is anything but foggy! Indeed, Fog’s feng shui tends towards the minimalist. I spied a large flat-screen at the far end and thought I saw it playing a Bogart film but the ‘schweet heart’ faded away as we were led to a table out of its range. The rest of the walls were essentially empty but the big north wall is just aching for some big paint. Contact me if you want to be hooked up with a great local graffiti artist to tag that puppy.

For me the entire space just worked. The vaulted ceiling is about perfectly lit and that really matters. You don’t just want the place to look good – you want to look good in the place! And I found the lighting and ambiance to be just about perfect whether you come in alone, with a party, or come to prowl the bar.

The Love

Our server was both attentive and knowledgeable and clearly eager to assure that our time in Fog was awesome. It was. The entire Fog crew has clearly worked hard to build a great new place in downtown Rockland and the bar and kitchen are offering up some delightful treats, especially considering the fact that Fog has been open for less than two months.

Wander into the Fog. You won’t be disappointed.

The Deets

Read more about Fog here: https://www.facebook.com/Fogbarcafe

Richard Podolsky writes about bird watching and food and can be reached at podolsky@att.net. Contact him if you want recommendations for bird watching or food finding in Midcoast Maine or beyond.