There are three general reactions when people hear the name of Rob Evans and Nancy Pugh’s new take-out joint on Middle Street:

Confusion — "Duck fat? I don’t get it. Can you even eat that? It sounds gross. Like, duck . . . fat. You know?"

Anger — "This is totally irresponsible. I mean, we’re living in a time when obesity rates are through the roof, and here comes this restaurant basically telling you to stuff your face with fat. We should be concentrating on healthy eating and exercise, not mindless hedonism."

Excitement — "Knowing food as I do, and realizing that duck fat is a flavorful cooking medium, and having accepted that America’s obesity problems — even genetically predisposed ones — should not force those of us who are able to control our eating habits to lives of only salads and Stairmasters, I’m pretty friggin’ psyched to have me some fries and a milkshake."

Whatever the reaction, however, it was hard to ignore the large sign on the window that spelled out those two controversial words. First off, it was in the space once occupied by the popular Woody’s Burgers, which unexpectedly shut down late last year. Secondly, the words "duck" and "fat" were underscored by about every Pavlovian bell in the book: Belgian fries, panini, milkshakes, beignets, gelato, cheese. Like the name or not, you had to enjoy your odds that you’d find something worth drooling over.

Rob and Nancy pasted that sign up there two months before their second restaurant opened, just to generate some buzz. It wasn’t chosen around a table in a marketing meeting, or even after hours and hours of thought. They kind of blurted it out while in line, filling out forms to incorporate their businesses, as a bit of a lark. Once it was out in the open, Nancy became more and more enamored with the name. Rob didn’t immediately follow suit. Friends said it would be too "industry," that folks wouldn’t understand it, that it was an item to be kept in the kitchen. But in any partnership, especially one that is both personal and professional, trust in each other’s gut instincts is integral to success. Nancy got her name.

While it seems clear that a restaurant with a name like theirs should have something of a ducky theme, the original inspiration came from a trip to Amsterdam. Strolling around with Nancy, trying to unwind from their hectic lifestyle but consciously absorbing local food trends, Rob immediately noticed what looked like home: Portlanders, carrying around cones of Beal's Ice Cream in the Old Port. But these citizens were Dutch, and the cones weren’t filled with frozen confections. They were filled with fries. Belgian fries, with mayonnaise. Portable snacks. The wheels began to turn.

Back in Maine, Rob was discovering cheap ways to prepare duck confit, a customer favorite, and duck breast, which would fly off the menu whenever it was offered. Due to the eat-and-go lifestyle of your average chef, he and Nancy were also developing a sense of what kind of to-go sandwiches the city had to offer. Being self-professed sandwich snobs as well as excellent cooks, they began to experiment with the exact type of sandwich they would want on the run. Toasted. Interesting. Varied. Simple. Again, they looked to their vacations, and remembered the lowly panino: flat, toasted sandwiches sold by sidewalk vendors all around Europe.

DuckFat relies on a slow-food philosophy in a fast food environment. The pick-ups are relatively simple: Build the sandwich, toast the sandwich. Drop the fries in the 25-percent duck-fat fryer, toss the fries in salt, put in white paper cone for easy carrying. But behind the counter, all day and night, the prep continues almost incessantly. Almost all of the edible items at DuckFat are made from scratch, from the Sour Cherry Chutney to the Sassafras Root Beer to the El Rey Hot Chocolate. Duck confit and pulled pork, both items to be had in your panini, cook all night in 225-degree ovens and are ready to be cooled and prepped when the first cooks arrive in the morning. It makes perfect sense. Take your time making your ingredients shine, and your menu items will pop.

For those needing a quick pick-me-up in the late morning, DuckFat’s Beignets (balls of dough, fried to order) make wonderful accompaniments to a cup of French-pressed coffee, which arrives in the press with a down-counting timer. If you’re a classicist, "Toast and Jam" (grilled brioche with mascarpone and your choice of homemade jams — the blueberry is particularly good) runs cheap. For those on the other end of the clock, their half-bottle wine list and cheese selections are perfect for pre-or post-dining snacks. Or grab an Allagash White and a Beet and Clementine Salad if you’re into other types of pairing.

The best thing that DuckFat has to offer is the chef and cook’s technique. It’s the same care for ingredients, the same dedication to excellence, and the same pure love of flavor that has made Hugo’s one of the country’s top dining spots, but at a level at which all can enjoy, sitting or walking. If you’re on the fence about the name, come on down. The fries are fine.

Andy King can be reached at dinnerwithandy@yahoo.com