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639 SE Morrison St., 503-232-5553, star-bar-rocks.com. 4 pm-2:30 am daily. Happy hour 4-8 pm daily: $2.50 PBR, $4 micro drafts, $4 wells, food specials.
Established: September 2010
It's fascinating how the spirit of punk flattens time and perpetuates agelessness. In a different kind of bar, it would be weird to see scenesters in their 20s and 40s pounding vegan Jell-O shots with the same disregard for the present or future. At Star Bar, it's all the same as long as your denim is dirty and your eardrums are blown. A scan of the tables out front reveals a tallboy-and-American Spirits kind of place, but you won't bother the bartender if you order a pint of Pfriem ($5), a Sex on the Beach slushie ($6) or a plate of gargantuan wings ($6.50) that have a weird falafel-based vegan counterpart for an extra dollar. Entertainment comes from DJs, an Aerosmith pinball machine and—surprise—canned and live music made from piss, vinegar and power chords. The deep red walls function as a gallery of some of the most disturbingly erotic velvet paintings you'll find anywhere in town, which is entertainment in its own right. Star Bar is far from perfect, but to the legion of leather-clad weirdos who'll be chain-smoking out front until the end times arrive, perfect is as boring as it gets.
