I'm not one to advocate violence, but I think the risk to her in a physical confrontation would have been minimal...maybe I'm old fashioned, but from my prior bar days (working, mostly, but some drinking as well), if some dude hit a lady in my bar, I'd be trying to pull 10 customers off of him before they turn him into a stain on the floor.
Even if you want to put that aside, if this guy was as messed up as she says (and no reason to doubt that), I have full confidence she could have laid him out.
But, realistically, all I can really say is it really sucks that it happened...there's no justification for it, and no defense for what he did. I don't know that I've EVER been that wasted where I would do something like that (hell, I have a hard enough time talking to chicks when I'm sober...when I'm drunk, talking by itself is a challenge).
And on a side note - VictoriaLyn, I think, gets the tip of the hat today for best phrasing - "throat punch the asswaffle"! Gave me a good morning laugh, and I thank you for it.