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An urban sanctuary composed of hair metal and cheap happy-hour sliders, Star Bar seems explicitly designed to piss off people who don't like to mix their whiskey with Whitesnake—right down to the deadpan homage to Big Star's #1 Record with which it shamelessly brands its windows. In the deep-red heart of the place, leather booths and velvet paintings of panthers, clowns and Barbie-proportioned nude women coalesce near the Who's Tommy pinball machine, a game which everyone except yours truly feels too hard rock to play. PBR and well whiskey might be the most-ordered things on the menu apart from the greasy blue cheese-stuffed house burger, but those inclined to drink something fancier are pointed to the seasonal cocktail menu, which at the time of our visit paid homage to late-'70s punk icons Dead Boys, and contained a tasty ginger-laced tonic called the Sonic Reducer.
Happy hour: 4-8 pm daily. $2 draft PBR, $3.50 craft pints and wells, $4 cider, $5 house wine. Multiple food specials, including a $6 burger and $4 tot'chos.
Entertainment: Live music, karaoke, photo booth, pinball.
639 SE Morrison St., 503-232-5553, star-bar-rocks.com. 4 pm-2:30 am daily.
Willamette Week