First Call: Sunshine in South Park

A weekly Voracious feature in which our writers walk into a bar and ask the bartender to make us his or her favorite drink.

Friendly, Neighborhood Watering Hold: Loretta's Northwesterner, 8617 14th Ave S, South Park

Friendly, Neighborhood Barkeep: Maria Porco, with an assist with manager Steve.

Pick Your Friendly Neighborhood Poison: Maria was a little intimidated by the whole premise and asked for an assist from Steve, who was busy frying up my $3 tavern burger.

"We're not really a cocktail bar," Steve says. "We're more a beer and whiskey bar. We were going to have a signature drink called the The Green River Killer because Gary Ridgeway used to live in the area and came in here." It turned out he still had family in the neighborhood so Steve put the kibosh on the drink.

None of this was much help to Maria so she turned back to the bar: "Alright well I'll start something and we'll see where it goes."

While Maria muddled lime and lemons, shook it with vodka, and threw in a little grenadine with a splash of sweet and sour, the regulars filled me in on the place. Tom, who seemed to know everyone by name, tells me the tiny diner, decorated with a clutter of old records, liquor bottles and a stove top Jiffy Pop bag, was once a dump. The people behind the 9 Pound Hammer bought it out and turned it into a quirky place where guys in trucker hats and a twenty-something with a white flower in her hair mingle in equal comfort.

As he wrapped it up, Maria finished: "It's my version of a pink lemonade," she says, sticking wedges of lime and lemon on the edge. "It's simple and tasty."

Wishin' It Were Still A Friendly, Neighborhood Sunny Day: The lemonade is that lovely blend of tart and a hint of sweet that just begs for an 85 degree Saturday afternoon. With an honest, cheap bar burger, and company that is happy to share but doesn't ask too many questions, it's a great way to at least remember that summer we should have had.