AUBURN — Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. Or, at least, where you know the name of everything on the menu and the beer list and the décor looks comfortingly familiar and there’s something, well, humane about the place.

The new Munchie Emporium/Mad Anthony Tap Room at 114 N. Main St. in Auburn is your destination, my fragile dear reader. In a new building, in a new city, and it still evokes the beloved Munchie décor of eclectic harmony. Opened in early April, the Auburn Munchie is owned by partners Blaine Stuckey, Jeff Neels and Todd Grantham, the three lucky stiffs who have put in 75-hour weeks or something at the original Munchie Emporium, now known as the Mad Anthony Brewing Co., at the corner of Taylor Street and Broadway in Fort Wayne.

The menu is precisely the same, as is the selection of Mad Anthony beer. The Auburn location does have one difference, the third part of a three-way liquor license, for those dissolute enough to order one of the specialty drinks, such as Munchie Bloody Mary or Auburn Kool Aid.

The restaurant/tap room is in a funky, downtown brick building (naturally) that wears its years well. It was the former Blackwell’s department store, and somebody painted that name on the bricks behind the bar in some sort of karmic nod. With its combination of small-town appeal and tourist trap lure (the famed Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum is a short car trip to the south) Auburn seemed a natural place to plant a new Munchie’s flag, according to Stuckey.

“We’re trying to do some new things. It’s in Auburn and not Fort Wayne, but it’s not that far away. We still have some identity there and people recognize the name,” Stuckey said.

Judging by the near-capacity crowd on a recent Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., a lot of people recognize the name. One should never miss the opportunity to visit any restaurant with the word Munchie in its name, but your correspondent was feeling somewhat put out by having to miss (he thought) his favorite baseball team on ESPN that night. The Munchie karma was working, however, and one of the few remaining tables was in the bar (appealingly elevated above the spacious dining area), with a clear view of aforementioned ESPN. When it turned out the general manager’s name was Dave Justice (like the ballplayer I helpfully pointed out, to little response; I probably should have added, and Halle Berry’s ex-husband), it was almost too much to bear.

Neels, who bears most of the brunt of running the restaurant, explained between gulps (mine) of food that the marketing strategy is simple: “Being downtown, we hope to draw the office workers for lunch and then have the place become a destination in the evening. We’ve been getting softball and volleyball leagues and the YMCA is just down the street.”

Now, let the games begin. Rest assured, all your favorite beers are here: Gabby Blonde Lager, Auburn Lager, Ol’ Woody Pale Ale, Harry Baals Irish Stout and Ruby Raspberry Wheat. Prices: $3 a glass or $10 a pitcher; the six-beer sampler is $5.

For dinner, I chose a simple Fettuccine Jambalaya, partly because of the warning Hot! on the menu. Over the noodles was a steaming layer of shrimp, sausage and numerous spices so hot, they can’t be mentioned in a family publication ($11.95). It was accompanied by a simple but ample salad with raspberry vinaigrette and garlic bread.

Among my all-time favorites on the Munchie menu are the Munchie burgers, which contain no meat but taste just as good as the meat burgers. Particularly good are the Black and Blue (bleu cheese, lettuce and tomato) and the Greek (spinach, tomatoes, black olives, feta cheese). Most Munchie Burgers cost $5.49 and come with a choice of red beans and rice, pasta salad, German potato salad or Trolley slaw. The burgers, incidentally, are made of oats, mushrooms, rice, vegetables, egg whites and spices. They weight half a pound, but you won’t gain a similar amount by eating one, nor will your arteries.

Because this is the Munchie, let’s pay attention to the munchies. One may choose, if one wishes, the Scooby Snacks — potato wedges seasoned with old bay dressing and served with a marinara dip ($1.49 or $2.79) or the Munchie Basket — onion rings, spicy pickle spears, zucchini, mushrooms, cauliflower and cheese sticks, again with marinara dip ($6.19). And remember, “No Substitutions, Please!”

Also good:

• Voodoo Platter — shrimp, crab cakes, red fish with Trolley slaw and French fries. $11.95.