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.

We Walk into a Bar Far, Far Away

House of Pendragon Brewing Company, Clovis, California
We were really hoping for Qui Gon Gin, but no. Instead, they offered Qui Gon Jinn and Juice with Pineapple, which is an IPA. As we’ve mentioned more than once, Mindy and I do not like beers or ales (or stouts, for that matter). HoP is a brewery, so beer is what they do.

On the other hand, it was the first night of Star Wars week, and we like science fiction fantasy, so it was a good night to be there. That same night was the theater debut of The Last Jedi -- but in this brewery, it was the debut for a Star Wars-themed beverage.

Outside the House of Pendragon, there was quite a collection of scum and villainy, with bad guys from a galaxy a long time ago and far, far away: Storm Troopers, a (tall) Jawa, a Tusken Raider, and a Tie Fighter Pilot. Inside, the taproom was packed, and we had some difficulty making our way to the bar.

Obviously, considering the name of the brewery, Star Wars isn’t the brewery’s usual geek theme. Usually medieval knights rather than Jedi knights provide the ambiance, but it was a reasonable transition. When we got to the bar to order, we heard that the Qui Gon Jinn had run out (more was expected in about fifteen minutes), so we ordered different IPAs, Excalibur and Lancelot.

It was a “Steal the Glass” Night, and the glasses were Star Wars themed. We paid a little extra to take them home.

While we were in line, Mindy had struck up a conversation with a man at one of the tables, and once we got our glasses, we asked if we could set them down on his table while we were sipping. John and his son, Austin, kindly gave their permission.

We asked John our two questions, “What makes for a good bar?” and “What makes for a good church?” 

John said, “I’m old, so what I think makes for a good bar is different.” (For the record, he seemed younger than us.) “I like a more relaxed and less crowded place than this.” (This was probably a busier than usual night at House of Pendragon.) “I like sports on TV, something to watch. And I like good bourbon.” (I nodded; I got that.) 

For a good church, he said he likes a preacher who interacts with the congregation.

We asked Austin whether he wanted to answer the questions and he said he’d pretty much agree with his dad’s answers.

I asked John whether he’d be going to see The Last Jedi the upcoming weekend, and he said he’d be going hunting, bow hunting. Which led to a conversation that ranged from what’s involved in getting a hunting license to the Olympic career of Geena Davis.

Mindy looked up a couple of facts ("Did Geena Davis compete as an archer in the Olympics?) on her phone, and I said, “Smartphones have really killed bar arguments.”

John said, “No they haven’t.” Which I guess proved his point.

We headed out, chatting with some of the Empire’s finest (worst?) on the way. We’ll probably visit the new adventures of Luke and Leia and the galaxy newbies soon, but for now, it was fun to experience a real life Star Wars bar scene.

We Walk into a Silent Movie (in a bar)

Full Circle Brewing Company, Fresno

The ringmaster didn’t promote beer. He brought out the bag of popcorn to juggle itself, the bun that trained the hot dog and the dancing drinks. But none of the circus acts featured beer or tacos.

Perhaps you’ve seen the snack bar promotional movie that provides a ten minute countdown between features at drive-ins? This time, it provided intermission entertainment during Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lodger at Full Circle Brewing Company in Fresno. The Lodger was one of three silent films at Full Circle during May; The Battleship Potemkin was shown the previous week, and The Man Who Laughs is scheduled next week.

Though The Lodger is only an hour and ten minutes long, there was an intermission. And even though that “Let’s All Go to the Lobby” commercial said nothing about beer, people seemed to find their way to the bar to buy their beers, ales, and custom brews made on the property. Outside, a man had set up a taco stand. But as I said, that intermission promo had popcorn, hot drinks, candy, and soft drinks, but none of it was sold there at the brewery. (Okay, there is one soft drink available at the bar, root beer, but that’s it.)

We were attracted to the place by the movie. I’ve been a Hitchcock fan from way back, and this film was the first thriller that brought the director to prominence. It also just so happens that at one of our other blogs, Movie Churches, we’re watching silent movies this month -- so Full Circle was definitely the place to be.

When we entered the brewery, cartoons were already playing on the screen: “Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land” to be specific (followed by several Warner Brothers cartoons). We sat at the bar, and I ordered a Cluster Fuggle Cream Ale. Mindy ordered a Bush League Barley Wine. Mindy had asked about the mead listed on the website, but the bartender said they didn’t have any.

We sat and sipped (you may recall, we aren't beer fans) while several people with bicycles came in, ordered, drank, and left. Then Cathy and Chelsea sat next to Mindy. We asked them the questions we always ask, “What makes for a good bar?” and “Whether you go or not, what would make for a good church?”

Cathy was closest, and she first took the question about what makes for a good bar. “The environment. If it looks and feels comfy and cozy and the people who pour your beers are friendly, that’s number one for what makes a good bar.”

Chelsea added, “Good drinks or beer. They have to have not too many people around. Not too crowded. They should have plenty of places to sit.”

They also talked about the importance of good music (“kind of like church, if there’s no good music…” Cathy said.) There wasn’t music playing at the time, though, because the cartoons were on the movie screen, and TVs at low volume were playing the first game of the Cavaliers and Celtics series.)

They talked about liking the atmosphere of Full Circle, with cozy urban feel of brick and wood. Along with the brick and wood, there are kitschy decorations, some reminiscent of other places we’ve been recently. There was a skeleton as there was at Goldstein’s and Ms. Pacman as there was at Spokeasy. And there were twinkle lights strung overhead, adding to the cozy vibe.

As for what makes for a good church, Cathy said, “First, welcoming. How is it when you first come in?” She said later that she thinks “people should be friendly, but not like makeup counter employees.”

And, she said, “I don’t like it all flashy and showy.”  She went to a church recently that had a fog machine. That was just too much. She also thinks about  the pastor. “Is he funny, engaging?” But more important was the pastor’s (and by extension, the church’s) theology. “Do I agree with it or not?” She doesn’t like pastors asking for money. “I’m just a poor college student.”

Cathy also said she looks for people her age, but “that’s not make or break.”

Chelsea said, “They should keep the message on God, not ‘please give so we can build a big building.’” She thinks that it’s okay to keep the property up and pay pastors and staff reasonably, but a good part of a church’s income should go to helping the community and to missions. Both agreed that a church’s money shouldn’t go to fancy decor. “Like taxes, I don’t want my money going to what I don’t want it to go to.” She said she thinks it’d be good if a couple times a month, a church would do projects in the community.

But our conversation ended with an an announcement by Nate Butler, the sponsor of the event, that the film was beginning. Before the film proper began, he’d put together excerpts from a documentary about Hitchcock. He also played the piano to accompany the film (as frequently happens when silent films are shown publicly). His score included bits from a variety of sources; we noticed Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, The Wizard of Oz, Pink Floyd, and the Eurythmics along with a snippet of “Putting on the Ritz” as well as “Hushaby Mountain” from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

During the intermission, as the screen played the ten minute snack bar countdown, Mindy asked Jeff the bartender our two questions. (We’d talked to Jeff before the movie, and he’d given us a bit of the history of Full Circle. New owners took over in August, and that’s when he began working behind the bar. The previous owners, we heard, had treated the company more like a hobby, keeping sporadic hours. The new owners treat the brewery as a business.)

Jeff said, “To me, what makes a good bar is the service. The glass should never be empty. Nobody should have to wait. It should have a clean, happy environment. Patrons should feel comfortable and welcome.”

Several customers came to the bar then, so he helped them while thinking about the church question. While pulling a beer, he looked over his shoulder and said, “Know what the answer to number three [the church question] is?  Same as for number two! I see the two places as very similar.”

Like Jeff, we see many similarities between bars and churches, and enjoy both. We also love movie theaters, so when that’s added to the mix as well, we’re happy campers.