Virtually every request made to the server is blocking. The point of a server request is to retrieve/store data, process it, and respond. That's a blocking operation by definition. I can't respond before processing the data. I can't process it before retrieving it. You get the picture.

The neat thing about node.js isn't that it's "non-blocking" ... every major HTTP server out there is "non-blocking" in the same way. The neat thing is that it's JavaScript. I can use the same language on the server side as on the client side. I can use the same libraries, etc. reducing my code footprint. Reduced code footprint = less maintenance, fewer bugs, easier coding.