After our afternoon getting music boxed at the Bayernhof, we reconvened at the nearby Starlite Lounge in Blawnox. Henry and I had never been there before, but Shawn and Jess were there once for dinner and said it was completely dead on that day, so they were surprised to see that this place was poppin’ off at 5pm.

Turns out, there was some local music festival going on called Punkapalooza, and the Starlite was one of the venues.

It was a super lively atmosphere, and I was THERE FOR IT. Especially when some man ran up to us as soon as we walked in and asked for our IDs. I was like, “Oh! Ok…” because that never happens anymore  (obviously).  I started to root around for my wallet and goes, “I’m just messing with yinz! I don’t even work here.”

YEP. I had a feeling I was going to love it there!

They’re apparently known for their world famous pierogies, so I was stoked to try that and also get a GRILLED CHEESE, which I have not had in way too long, now that I think about it. Maybe Henry and I need to start doing our weekend diner dates again.

Our server was this young girl with blond braids and piercings who was pleasant enough but also just the amount of “don’t piss me off” to be employed at a dive bar. She reminded me of Tara Yummy’s friend Sophia and if this means nothing to you it’s because you probably have age-appropriate interests and aren’t subscribed to a bunch of young LA vloggers on YouTuber. I waited until after we left to mention this to Henry because I didn’t feel like explaining the whole thing to Shawn and Jess – I always get so in the weeds when explaining who obscure people are that I’m talking about that half the time I end up on a completely tangent and never do circle back to the person in question. Like, spit it out, Erin. It’s not that deep and also: no one cares.

I’m a terrible storyteller.

Speaking of the server, though: Shawn ordered a Screwdriver with Titos (and also Confidence^TM ) and I guess it was just because it was 5PM at this little dive bar filling up with hippies (we were very confused when punks started dressing like hippies but Starlite was swathed in tie dye) that the idea of ordering a Screwdriver made me crack up.

The server looked up from her order pad. “Ok. I’ll have to make sure they have the stuff for that,” she said in the underwhelmed tone of a certain generation.

“I wanted to get a Screwdriver in honor of Chuck,” Shawn mumbled, like he felt an explanation was in order. I thought that was a great idea but Henry and I had already ordered beer. :/

When she came back with the rest of our drinks, she relayed to Shawn that THEY DIDN’T HAVE ORANGE JUICE AND SOMEONE HAD TO GO OUT TO GET IT. Shawn very quickly tried to recall his order but it was too late, some poor go-fer was already sent on Shawn’s screwdriver side quest.

Obviously we all felt bad about this but I couldn’t stop laughing because this is usually the shit that happens to me, accidentally ordering things that put me in the hot seat.

Meanwhile, I made Henry order the Polish platter so he could share the pierogi and haluski with me.

“You can have the sausage, though,” I said diplomatically.

“Wow, thanks,” he muttered, because I guess this is one of the few annoying things I do – tell him what he’s going to order so that it can benefit me.

About a half hour later, Shawn stopped our server and very nervously asked, “I hate to bother you, but….screwdriver?”

“She hasn’t come back yet,” she said, and we were like BITING OUR FISTS IN SECONDHAND ANGUISH OVER THIS.

And then Henry, King of Local Grocery Stores, started running through his mental Rolodex of nearby stores where this person likely could have gone, unable to understand why this OJ acquisition was taking so long.

But then – Screwdriver! Shawn was basically to the point where he was going to present his back to the server for some flagellation.

After his first sip, we asked him if it was worth it and he said he didn’t know because he had never had one before! OH, I WAS HOWLING.

Meanwhile, our food was so good! An older woman was in charge of checking the Punkapalooza goers at the door helped serve our food and Shawn asked, “Are you the one who got the orange juice?”

SHE WAS.

He was several seconds away from throwing himself at her feet, I think, totally groveling, but she was just laughing about it and said it was no big deal. But it was to us! It didn’t even happen to me but I will always think fondly of the Starlite now because of this. What nice people!

Um, and the pierogi? FUCK ME IN THE MOUTH, HOT BOIS. I think it might actually have been the best pierogi I’ve had in this city. Just a classic potato pierogi but it was absolute perfection. Moist on the inside and chewy on the outside with just the right amount of crisp around the edge. Yes. Oh yes.

And the haluski!! Also some of the best I’ve ever had. I’d love to be able to compare it to the haluski that I bought probably 20 years ago from a lady and her young daughter going door-to-door but I WOULDN’T KNOW BECAUSE THEY NEVER CAME BACK WITH IT. One of the many times I’ve been scammed.

Coleslaw – bangin’.

Grilled cheese – they forgot my tomato but it was otherwise very classic and satisfying. I know it seems like grilled cheese is an easy order but you’d be surprised (or maybe not) at how many bad g’cheeses I’ve had.

Shawn ended up getting a second Screwdriver because he felt like he had to at that point. Meanwhile, we ended up totally overstaying our welcome (no one made us feel pressured to leave though!) and chilled in that booth for HOURS after our plates were cleared. It was 9PM by the time we finally called it a night and it honestly felt like old times – hanging out in a dive bar with good friends and talking until I started to lose my voice. Yes, more of this please!!!

We really were perplexed at how different the punk scene had become these days. Like, why did everyone look like Dead Heads, you know? So I finally decided to google “punkapalooza” and realized that it was actually spelled “pUNKapalooza” – not sure what the significance of the capital letters is, but it’s billed as Blawnox’s annual JAM BAND FESTIVAL.

THAT MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE.

 

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