Where Everybody Knows Your Name: Breakfast at a Bar

To kick off a day of wedding invitation finishing, I enjoyed a lovely breakfast with my aunt and mom at a bar. Yes, that's right. Duffy's Tavern in Boalsburg, a little town just outside of State College where chickens cross the road and locals gather at the pub for eggs, bacon, and beer on Saturday morning.

No seemed to care why they were crossing the road...

Amid the strains of local gossip and motown songs playing on the satellite radio, I enjoyed a hearty (aka, completely filling) feast of chocolate pancakes and bacon.

Although we didn't opt for the Bloody Mary morning special, I found an odd sense of comfort in sitting on a wooden bench, enjoying delicious pancakes and steaming sub-par coffee with the scent of beer in the air. It was a chilly morning, but the room was still packed with the folks who make the trek down the street for some food and kabitzing with each other. Every regular who walked through was greeted with a chorus of welcome, and was sent off with a "see you next week". It wasn't the kind of place you go for fine dining or speedy service, but rather for the leisure and camaraderie. 

Although technically the service could have been enough to make a hospitality major cringe, I didn't get antsy when my water glass wasn't constantly refilled or coffee kept piping hot. It was more about the people and seeing a snapshot of life on a small town Saturday.