What’s an avocado toast lover to do in Centre County? Give this brunch spot a try

With nearly 40,000 college students flooding into Centre County every year, you would think there would be more places to get an avocado toast. But the simple, nearly endlessly customizable breakfast staple for any millennial worth their salt is scarcely found at breakfast restaurants in Centre County. Unless you head to Breakfast on Boal.

It’s one of Centre County’s newest breakfast spots, opening just over a year ago by two Boalsburg owners, Brad Holzwarth and Mike Smoczynski. After a Hungry in Happy Valley poll about hidden gems, a reader wrote in and nominated the eatery.

The gray brick building with the floor to ceiling black frame windows is located at 603 Boal Ave., right next to Angelo’s Pizzeria. The walls in the entryway are filled with old paintings and photos of Boalsburg that owners have found, residents have brought in or that were donated by the Boalsburg Heritage Museum.

Smoczynski worked as a breakfast chef in Colorado for eight years and the menu shows it. They make their own green chile sauce in-house and lean into the southwestern element, with jalapeno, poblano pepper and chorizo scattered around the menu.

But what really stood out to me, a 24-year-old transplant from the Chicago suburbs, was of course, the avocado toast. Buried under a mountain of arugula (arguably the trendiest of the mixed greens), topped with tomato and balsamic vinaigrette reduction and served with in-house pickled red onions, it’s not your typical avocado toast. Best eaten with a fork and a knife, it’s the perfect mix of creamy avocado and crunchy sourdough with bright bites of fresh tomato and the sweet, tanginess of the balsamic glaze.

If avocado isn’t your thing the menu is full of other options, including a make-your-own breakfast sandwich, omelets and a hashbrown platter. When I go back — and I will be going back — I’m getting the chorizo hash with green chile sauce on the side.

Although it’s a breakfast restaurant, to me Breakfast on Boal has a distinctly brunch atmosphere. Now, amateurs would say the difference between the two is timing but professional brunchers like me know it’s a case of vibe. Later hours, unique takes on breakfast classics and an almost farmhouse-meets-industrial chic decor style? That is a brunch place, through and through. There are dozens of breakfast places around Centre County, some that have been here, unchanged, for decades, but true brunch places? They are few and far between.

Despite being only a few miles away from Penn State’s campus, the owners say most customers are Boalsburg residents, mixed with county residents and football parents in the fall. In fact, catering to Boalsburg residents is exactly what its owners set out to do, filling a breakfast restaurant-shaped hole in their hometown.

It’s certainly filled the brunch-shaped hole in my life.

Breakfast on Boal is open 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. from Tuesday through Sunday. It’s first come, first serve with no reservations. For more information, check out Breakfast on Boal on Instagram or Facebook.

This story was originally published May 18, 2023 at 2:55 PM.