We walk into befuddlement, not madness

Mad Duck Craft Brewing, Fresno, California
I really must admit that I don’t understand the shirt at all. The shirt reads “I (silhouette of duck) Beer.” Is beer glass throwing a problem necessitating much ducking to avoid being hit in the head? Does one quack into one’s tankard? Paddle, duck-like in the vats of brewing beer? As I said, this confuses me, but it’s okay because the servers wearing the shirts also tended to wear friendly smiles.

Mad Duck is in the Campus Pointe Shopping Center right next to Fresno State University, and the mall is mostly restaurants, with a few shops and a movie theater. It certainly seems to be a student-centric place. We’d gone to the movie theater to see Isle of Dogs. (And if you see any stop-motion features about animals in a foreign culture this year, make it this one. It really is fun.) After the film, we crossed the street and a manicured courtyard and went into Mad Duck.

I had to fetch a notebook from the car, so Mindy and our son Bret went inside. When I got back, I couldn’t see them from the door, but the hostess told me they might have gone to the bar.

She was right. They’d found three seats together at the low bar on the far side next to the door to the kitchen. The place was busy, and the seats were together, so all was well -- but it was a little odd to sit looking up at the bar itself. Bartenders and wait staff could loom, but they didn’t abuse their looming powers.

The background music was Phil Collins, the Boss, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, and many others who made the ‘80’s great, even though the crowd was too young to remember the era. I guess April in Parks and Recreation was right. Everyone loves “Time After Time.”

We were hungry, so we ordered food before deciding on drinks: chicken sandwich for me, chicken tenders for Bret, and crispy goat cheese sliders for Mindy (it was National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day). For dessert, we ordered drinks.

We didn’t order any of the beers or I.P.As brewed in-house, delicious as they may be, because (as we have stated in these parts many times before) we really don’t like beer. We truly duck it whenever we can. So Bret ordered Woodchuck Apple Cider, Mindy had an Irish Coffee with whipped cream (and a dash of chocolate, but not the Frangelico in the Nutty Irishman because she’s not fond of hazelnut), and I went a bit more exotic this time with a S’Morchata (a Mexican themed blend of cinnamon, vanilla, rum, chocolate bitters, and housemade toasted marshmallow syrup).

Our bartender, Corrin, noted our liquid desserts, and though she was quite busy, took a moment to answer our two standard questions, “What makes for a good bar?” and “Whether you go or not, what do you think makes for a good church?”

She gave one answer. “It’s the same thing for both places…. Friendly and kind service, people who are patient and open minded.”

I asked her what she thought about the Mad Duck, and she said she was happy to have a good product that she felt good about selling. The management is patient and kind. It’s one of the best places she’s worked.

We thought it was a very nice place to visit. Good food, good drinks, and a friendly staff -- though we didn’t encounter any deranged or angry waterfowl. On the whole, I’d consider that a good thing.