Eater Boston - The Cocktail Week 2014 Dive Bar Power Hour CollectionThe Boston Restaurant, Bar, and Nightlife Bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52682/favicon-32x32.png2014-10-23T16:00:02-04:00http://boston.eater.com/rss/stream/68147542014-10-23T16:00:02-04:002014-10-23T16:00:02-04:00This Concludes Dive Bar Power Hour
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<p>We hope you have enjoyed this brief foray into the wonderful world of dive bars.</p> <p>Want to discuss your own favorite dive bars? Drop a note below. Until next time, drink cheaply, use the jukebox judiciously, and hone your Big Buck Hunter skills.</p>
https://boston.eater.com/2014/10/23/7050551/this-concludes-dive-bar-power-hourRachel Leah Blumenthal2014-10-23T15:50:02-04:002014-10-23T15:50:02-04:00These Are the 29 Best Dive Bars in Ski Country
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<img alt="Kochevars Saloon in Crested Butte, Colorado" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vwUIp5BMc2afmaH2sYRRRrwvqZ8=/39x0:678x479/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/42555444/Kochevars_Saloon.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kochevars Saloon in Crested Butte, Colorado | <a href='https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=507585829315162&set=pb.102639366476479.-2207520000.1386815037.&type=3&theater'>Facebook</a></figcaption>
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<p>Around New England and beyond, these are the best places to get your cheap drink on after a long day on the slopes.</p> <p>All ski towns live by a work hard, play hard<strong> </strong>mentality. After all, what could be better after a serious snow session or hike than a cold one (or three). In honor of <a target="_blank" href="http://boston.eater.com/tags/cocktail-week-2014">Eater Cocktail Week</a>, Curbed Ski has mapped out the best swanky <a target="_blank" href="http://m.ski.curbed.com/archives/2014/10/mapping-where-to-drink-cocktails-in-ski-country.php">cocktails</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://m.ski.curbed.com/archives/2014/04/updated-beers-or-bust-the-best-ski-town-breweries-april-14.php">breweries</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="http://m.ski.curbed.com/archives/2014/06/updated-from-whiskey-to-rum-the-best-ski-town-distilleries.php">distilleries</a> in ski country, but sometimes, all you want is a cheap beer and a shot, pronto. Whether you're more concerned with saving a few bucks, rubbing shoulders with fellow <a target="_blank" href="http://m.ski.curbed.com/archives/2014/08/why-the-death-of-the-ski-bum-will-ruin-ski-towns-everywhere.php">ski bums</a>, or soaking up deliciously boozy alpine atmosphere, we've got you covered, from <a target="_blank" href="http://m.ski.curbed.com/archives/2014/08/your-guide-to-getting-the-most-out-of-blues-brews.php">Telluride</a> to Killington, <a target="_blank" href="http://m.seattle.eater.com/2014/10/21/7030265/the-ultimate-guide-to-eater-seattles-cocktail-week-2014">Seattle</a> to <a target="_blank" href="http://m.sf.eater.com/maps/where-to-drink-cocktails-in-sf-right-now-winter-2014">San Francisco</a>. Here, now, head over to the updated guide to ski country's<strong> best dive bars</strong>, including a healthy New England selection. You're welcome.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://ski.curbed.com/archives/2014/10/mapping-the-best-dive-bars-in-ski-country.php">Head this way to see the line-up >>>></a></p>
https://boston.eater.com/2014/10/23/7050423/these-are-the-29-best-dive-bars-in-ski-countryRachel Leah Blumenthal2014-10-23T15:40:02-04:002014-10-23T15:40:02-04:00Marc Hurwitz of Boston's Hidden Restaurants on Dive Bars
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<p>Marc Hurwitz has been writing his blog, <a href="http://www.hiddenboston.com/" target="new">Boston's Hidden Restaurants</a>, since 2004. In it, as the name implies, he seeks out the hidden restaurant gems in Boston as well as beyond. Here, he talks with Eater about dive bars.</p> <p><img src="http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/2372540/Marc_Hurwitz.0.jpg" alt="Marc_Hurwitz.0.jpg" align="right" style="line-height: 1.24;"><b>What is your definition of a dive bar?</b></p>
<p>In general, I think a dive bar, as opposed to a neighborhood joint, focuses mainly on being a place to drink and get away from it all. Some dive bars have decent food, but many, if not most, have none at all. Also, there should be at least a slight element of danger involved, even if none is imminent.</p>
<p><b>What do you think makes a good dive bar and a bad dive bar?</b></p>
<p>A good dive bar is often one that has been around for decades and has the same clientele day in and day out — and cheap drinks are a must. If a "dive bar" has large windows with light coming in, good food, ferns hanging from the walls, and music from bands such as The Decemberists, it's a bad dive bar, or perhaps not a dive bar at all.</p>
<p><b>Do you have a dive bar snack of choice?</b></p>
<p>Bar pizza for sure. The grease and gooey cheese help make the beers go down that much quicker.</p>
<p><b>What are some of your favorite dive bars, both inside and outside of Boston?</b></p>
<p>Well, my favorite of them all may be the Old Colony Tap in Provincetown, but closer by, I really like Cronin's in Quincy (though they don't consider themselves to be a dive bar), the Cantab in Cambridge, Kelleher's in Roslindale, and Cappy's Tavern in Readville.</p>
<p><b>Why are these your favorites?</b></p>
<p>They tend to feel old-school and untouched by gentrification, though I tend to break my own rule about bad food/no food in the case of Cronin's and Kelleher's. As for the Old Colony Tap, it's the perfect storm of dive bar greatness — no food, cheap drinks, great jukebox, very dark and gloomy, no door on the bathroom, and bartenders who will talk your ear off.</p>
<p><b>What’s the most unique drink/bite you’ve had at a dive bar?</b></p>
<p>Borderline dive bar, though the apple cinnamon pizza at the Venus Cafe in Whitman is something special.</p>
<p><b>Are are some dive bars that have closed that you miss?</b></p>
<p>Too many. The Alumni in Quincy, Salem Wood Cafe in Malden, Sadie's in Waltham, The Quiet Man in Southie, Woodley's in Cambridge, The Paddock in Somerville...I could go on and on but I'm starting to get a bit weepy.</p>
<p><b>Is it better to go where everyone knows your name or a place you can just escape?</b></p>
<p>Well, if everyone knows your name at a bar, that in of itself can be a problem (for many reasons), but it's not a bad thing in some ways. I guess for me, it would be a mix of that and a way to escape the craziness of everyday life, though sometimes going to a dive bar is simply a way to have fun.</p>
<p><b>What sort of music do you think is essential for a dive bar?</b></p>
<p>Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Beastie Boys, AC/DC, Deep Purple, Metallica, Soundgarden...anything that's loud and the opposite of The Decemberists.</p>
<p><b>Are there certain other things that you think are essential to having something be a dive bar? Things like televisions, pool tables, wings served in crappy wooden bowls, etc.?</b></p>
<p>Sticky floors are a must. Also, no windows (or tiny porthole-style windows), a jukebox with loud music (see above), televisions with lousy screens, neon signs, and little plaques on the bar memorializing those who used to sit there.</p>
<p><b>Do you think a dive bar is not a dive bar without someone named Sully?</b></p>
<p>Sully is always a good name for a bar, or any name or nickname that ends with a y. Sully's, Kiley's, Smitty's, Patty's, Buddy's, Morey's, Cappy's, etc. They all work to varying degrees.</p>
<p><i>Image: Hurwitz' "self-portrait" (he maintains anonymity.)</i></p>
https://boston.eater.com/2014/10/23/7050265/marc-hurwitz-of-bostons-hidden-restaurants-on-dive-barsKatie Chudy2014-10-23T15:30:03-04:002014-10-23T15:30:03-04:00Dive Bar Fly on the Wall at Anchovies
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<figcaption>Anchovies | <a href='http://theskinnybeet.com'>Katie Chudy</a></figcaption>
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<p>Dive Bar Power Hour, part of Cocktail Week 2014, continues with an evening at Anchovies, a cozy restaurant and bar in the South End.</p> <p>It's Monday night, and we just walked in <a href="http://www.anchoviesboston.com">Anchovies</a> in the South End. The aroma of red sauce, melted cheese, and meatballs hangs heavy; it smells exactly like what you want your local pizza joint/dive bar to smell like. Red lights give the whole place a crimson glow. We look around, hoping for a seat at the bar. There's only a couple of scattered single barstools, and we debate whether or not we want to be those people that ask if others would mind "scooching." A couple of guys yell out to us. "We'll move down, here! Sit over here," they say in friendly voices that makes us feel welcome.</p>
<p>We get situated, order a drink, and start to look at the menu. To the right of me, a guy is listening to a woman vent about a friend who is making a big mistake. She is drinking a glass of white wine, and he's drinking what is presumably a vodka tonic. She pays her bill; he insists on giving her a hug. She leaves. Two more people come in and know the hugger. We start to call him The Mayor. The bartender knows everyone who just walked in, and he verifies their "usual" drink order. More people come in. Everyone seems to know The Mayor.</p>
<p>Seated behind me, a family of three. Mom and Dad aren't talking about something that seems serious. The daughter plays video games, almost unaware that she's even here. She ignores Mom's plea for her to eat. She's busy; she's got a game to win. Our new buddies that so kindly made room for us have ordered quite the spread: toasted ravioli that is served neatly in a porcelain French onion soup crock and a side of red sauce, two tennis ball-sized meatballs, and a basket of skinny French fries. The smell of truffle oil that the fries are laced with rises up and lingers. We get hungry as we wait for our pizza.</p>
<p>The Mayor is sitting by himself now. His friends had one drink and then left. A sad-looking younger gentleman takes a seat next to him. He orders a vodka and soda. He is lost in thought. The Mayor strikes up a conversation with him, and the two end up chatting like old friends.</p>
<p>Video Game Girl takes a break from the game and announces loudly to Mom that one of her teeth is about to fall out. Four out of six people that are sitting around us are scrolling through their Facebook feed. The Mayor is showing his feed to the sad, younger gentleman. Bits of conversations can be heard along with rickety wooden chairs that scratch against the worn floors. Someone from across the bar loudly declares, "I've never met anyone in my life that doesn't like cheese." ACDC plays so softly in the background that you almost don't even hear it.</p>
<p>Our pizza is accidentally delivered to The Mayor. He says it's not his, and we claim the pie. It has shaved meatballs that rest on top of sweet red sauce and cheese that stretches and pulls dramatically with each slice that is removed from the well-worn silver pizza plate. We get lost in our pizza while two women come in. They're very excited to see The Mayor, and he stands up to give them each a big hug, the type that both parties hang on a little longer then they should and sway left and right. He eyes her bag. "Is that a real Fendi?" he asks in surprise. She sheepishly admits that it is not as she takes off a jacket that reveals a fluffy white sweater that has a giant postcard embroidered on it. Where an address should be, it says in bold letters, "I'm here! Please love me!" She and The Mayor get lost in conversation and laugh often. Even Sad, Younger, Gentleman joins in on the fun. He's now part of the group. Our buddies that originally offered us our seats whisper to us that next time we're here we HAVE to get the meatball calzone. They follow up with approval of our order. The meatballs are out of this world, they say, and we agree.</p>
<p>We finish up our wine and pizza. We head out to our car. It's a crisp fall night. The kind that is perfect in that classic New-England-in-October sort of way. We ask ourselves why we don't go to Anchovies more often, and we debate how high it ranks on the dive bar scale. It's got the look, old and well-warn, quirky in its decorating and looking like it hasn't changed since the 70s or 80s. It's the tough type of place that seems like at any minute it could get rough around the edges, but it never does. It seems to be the place that everyone knows your name, and as Bostonians, isn't that what we're supposed to want? It's reasonably priced, especially for the high-end neighborhood it's situated in, and whether or not truffle oil fills the air with its perfume shouldn't deter it from its dive bar status. It's got it's own kind of charm, and for a night like tonight, it's just perfect.</p>
https://boston.eater.com/2014/10/23/7028435/dive-bar-fly-on-the-wall-at-anchoviesKatie Chudy2014-10-23T15:20:03-04:002014-10-23T15:20:03-04:00It Was Just a Place for Drinking Beer, Darts, and Regrets
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<p>A special Dive Bar Power Hour edition of the weekly Board Wrap.</p> <p>· <a href="%E2%80%9Chttp://www.yelp.com/biz/biddy-earlys-boston?hrid=VPJWo-MxvyUB_qSUilk01g%E2%80%9D">This Place Is a Big Room Full of Kickass</a> [Yelp]</p>
<p>· <a href="%E2%80%9Chttp://www.yelp.com/biz/biddy-earlys-boston?hrid=mm5eVMcC6AXYyRjnZepnDw%E2%80%9D">Lots of White Guys With Beards and Flannel (Didn't the Grunge Era End?)</a> [Yelp]</p>
<p>· <a href="%E2%80%9Chttp://www.yelp.com/biz/biddy-earlys-boston?hrid=0DizEFHm553AHFsuX-JrlQ%E2%80%9D">I Screamed Rihanna Songs While Wearing a Bowtie</a> [Yelp]</p>
<p>· <a href="%E2%80%9Chttp://www.yelp.com/biz/croke-park-whiteys-boston?hrid=xKDfKH9GWJw4sEj9mhcvxA%E2%80%9D">If You're Insecure, You Might Not Feel Safe There</a> [Yelp]</p>
<p>· <a href="%E2%80%9Chttp://www.yelp.com/biz/croke-park-whiteys-boston?hrid=Jzj5FB189fAPkbY4NdFJuw%E2%80%9D">Lots of Creed on the Jukebox. And Lots of People Will Play the Creed Songs.</a> [Yelp]</p>
<p>· <a href="%E2%80%9Chttp://www.yelp.com/biz/croke-park-whiteys-boston?hrid=ywZsF3Vr6CBQ9zcPFF7CAw%E2%80%9D">I've Been to Crackhouses Where I've Felt Safer. Also, That Had Less Crack.</a> [Yelp]</p>
<p>· <a href="%E2%80%9Chttp://www.yelp.com/biz/the-tam-boston?hrid=ykeZgOqwONF0cJNqQTgmCg%E2%80%9D">Cheap Beers, Strong Drinks and Naked Photohunt</a> [Yelp]</p>
<p>· <a href="%E2%80%9Chttp://www.yelp.com/biz/the-tam-boston?hrid=zBxvnGsjClFfR0aAwiEW5w%E2%80%9D">If You Want to Feel Like a Townie But Are Too Afraid to Go to Roxbury</a> [Yelp]</p>
<p>· <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yelp.com%2Fbiz%2Fthe-dugout-boston%3Fhrid%3Dv8K-UGpUxAIjqi8Z3dlNwQ&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fboston.eater.com%2F2014%2F10%2F23%2F7049909%2Fit-was-just-a-place-for-drinking-beer-darts-and-regrets" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">One Channel on a TV From 1983</a> [Yelp]</p>
<p>· <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yelp.com%2Fbiz%2Fthe-dugout-boston%3Fhrid%3DqT2uGDjMynxPGfMB4OJfGw&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fboston.eater.com%2F2014%2F10%2F23%2F7049909%2Fit-was-just-a-place-for-drinking-beer-darts-and-regrets" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">It Was Just a Place for Drinking Beer, Darts and Regrets</a> [Yelp]</p>
<p>· <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yelp.com%2Fbiz%2Fsullivans-tap-boston%3Fhrid%3DUs4IBQpactBR1LjHc6B_UQ&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fboston.eater.com%2F2014%2F10%2F23%2F7049909%2Fit-was-just-a-place-for-drinking-beer-darts-and-regrets" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Cocktails Are No Nonsense and Served With a Heavy Hand, Just as God Intended</a> [Yelp]</p>
https://boston.eater.com/2014/10/23/7049909/it-was-just-a-place-for-drinking-beer-darts-and-regretsRachel Leah Blumenthal2014-10-23T15:10:00-04:002014-10-23T15:10:00-04:00What We Talk About When We Talk About Dive Bars
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<p>A working definition for exactly what a dive bar is. A proposal for what makes one dive bar better than another. And a theory on why it is so tempting and sometimes difficult to keep from getting all theoretical and wordy about the most basic of all places to grab a drink. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>Best Dive Bar?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Something about those three words never looks quite right. Like Best Prison. Or Best RMV. Yet in a strictly literal sense these things must be possible. There are prisons that are better at being prisons than other prisons. Certainly there are better prisons to be </span><i style="line-height: 1.5;">in</i><span> than other prisons. And there simply have to be RMVs that are better at being RMVs than every single one I have ever been in or heard of. And so there must be dive bars that are better at being dive bars.</span></p>
<p><span>But what does that even mean? In order to answer this, you first have to know what exactly makes a bar a dive. And a quick glance around the internet for "Dive Bar" defined, yields the following results:</span></p>
<blockquote class="blockquote">"<i style="line-height: 1.5;">A well-worn, unglamorous bar, often serving a cheap, simple selection of drinks to a regular clientele. The term can describe anything from a comfortable-but-basic neighborhood pub to the nastiest swill-slinging hole</i>." – Urban Dictionary</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<blockquote class="blockquote">"<i>A dive bar is an informal bar or pub. Such bars are sometimes referred to as neighborhood bars, where local residents gather to drink and socialize. Individual bars may be considered to be disreputable, sinister, or even a detriment to the community</i>." – Wikipedia</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<blockquote class="blockquote">"<i>A shabby and disreputable establishment (as a bar or nightclub).</i>" – Merriam-Webster</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are lots more. In fact the sheer number of articles and message boards and forums trying to define the dive bar only underlines the difficulty of the challenge. Almost all of them, along with being pretty general with their terminology, point in the same direction. Namely, down. Broadly defining a dive bar as basically the lowest rung of quality in the drinking universe. Which is why the very idea of "Best Shabby and Disreputable Establishment" is problematic. If a dive is always shabby, then is it possible to be better by being shabbier? Can a place be better than another by being less-reputable? And if so, wouldn’t the award for Best Dive Bar actually go to the <i>worst </i>dive bar? And then wouldn’t the defined Worst Dive Bar be in other more familiar ways, the best? It’s all very confusing.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I submit that the problem stems from the way we define a dive bar to begin with. And I further submit (as humbly as is possible when making such a statement) that all of the above definitions and just about every other definition I’ve ever come by are fundamentally wrong and almost entirely miss the point of what a dive bar actually is.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here’s my case for why:</p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right"><span>There are dives with and without music. Dives with and without food. There are old falling-down dives, and there are brand new dives. There are dark, silent dives, and there are bright loud dives (mostly by the ocean).</span></q></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To start with, what makes a dive bar so difficult to define is that it is mostly about feel. (Like irony and Americana, we know it when we see it but have trouble putting that recognition into words.) This gets tricky because most definitions of dive bars set themselves up as a kind of physical inventory or checklist. A bar is a dive if it has a jukebox (or no music); if it doesn’t have food (or does); if it is hard to find (or not) and so on. Something that is easy enough to do with, say, an oyster bar, but doesn’t really work when it comes to dives. Because there are bars we recognize as unquestionably dive-ish that manage to contradict all of these parameters. There are dives with and without music. Dives with and without food. There are old falling-down dives, and there are brand new dives. There are dark, silent dives, and there are bright loud dives (mostly by the ocean). There are tiny hole-in-the-wall five-seat dives, and there are sprawling three-bar dives. Dr. Seuss, after a few pops, could have done much with the subject.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It would be much easier if this were not the case. As it is the lack of tangible, irrefutably defining traits is exactly what both makes the dive bar debate so interesting and also allows it to get kind of philosophical in a hurry, and can lead (especially if one is having this debate <i>in</i> a dive bar) to all sorts of navel-gazing vaguely socio-economic theories that themselves require further definition and therefore only lead one further away from any kind of definite answer.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All of which seems, to my mind, unnecessary. When the real answer is far simpler. It is single concept, based on a single word. And that word is:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Effort.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You see, your true dive bar <i>is not really making one</i>. Or much of one. Or, perhaps a bit more generously, is not making much of an effort beyond the minimum required to service its guests with drinks. And that is it. That is the single, all-purpose litmus test definition for whether or not a bar is a dive. In practice it works something like this:</p>
<ul>
<li> <span>The dive bar employs exactly as many employees as necessary, and no more. Their </span><span>style of service (if you will) may be brusque, it may be jovial, it may be anything in between, but it will be honest. It will basically be who they are, as people. To act otherwise takes effort. For most people drinking in a dive this is not a problem, and you take service how it comes. But you can be sure the dive bar is not going to be bothered much by a nasty little Yelp review disparaging its service. Mostly because they will never see it. Following and dissecting and fretting over Yelp reviews taking a particularly unproductive brand of effort.</span> </li>
<li> <span>The dive bar stocks the drinks it can most easily serve. This means that if their Irish whiskey is Jameson, their Irish whiskey will always be Jameson. Repeat orders require less effort than new products. And you will not see the bartender of a dive sitting down with a liquor rep tasting through Japanese scotches. (</span><i style="line-height: 1.5; font-size: 16px;">Way</i><span> too much effort.)</span> </li>
<li> <span>The dive bar invests exactly as much money as required to keep the door open and to keep paid drinks full. If something is broken (say, a hand dryer) but does not immediately impede one’s ability to come in pay for a drink and leave, it will not be fixed any time soon. This includes but is not limited to: lights, clocks, door handles, door locks, pretty much anything at all to do with the Men’s, and most characteristically, signage. It doesn’t mean a bar has to have things falling apart to be a dive, or that things are not broken without being fixed in non-dive bars. It does mean that things in a dive that happen to be broken, look to have been broken<i> </i></span><i><span>for some time</span><span>.</span></i> </li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal">All of which goes a long way towards explaining why it is so difficult to define a dive bar by the method of inventorying various elements. If their bar did not have music to begin with, it won’t have it now. And if it does, it probably means it either came with the place or the owner got a deal on a used jukebox (installation included). Maybe there’s a cousin who distributes video poker? Alright, it’ll have video poker. If they have a small kitchen and can hire someone cheap to cook, there’ll be food. But one can be assured that the prep-time will be extremely minimal. Ditto the plating. There may be televisions, but they will likely either be some off-brand model or very old, and the channel and volume will be more or less set for the decade. Small dive bars started small and will always be small (expansion takes massive effort). Large dive bars were almost always something other than a dive bar before they were sold and left pretty much as is until they reached the identifiable state of disinterested stasis that defines their dive-ness. Newer dive bars are built with the least amount of the cheapest materials required to facilitate seated drinking, will be decorated with chalkboards and mirrors and clocks that scream I-came-free-with-a-ten-case-drop-of-Budweiser (non-dive bars are often above taking free stuff from reps in exchange for an order; the true dive bar, less so), and will stay that way with the minimal repair and maintenance required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until they either go out of business, or become <i>old</i> dive bars.</p>
<p><span>Perhaps an example will illustrate the point.</span></p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-left"><span>It attracts its few clients here and there but mostly it stays open by never spending a dollar it doesn’t have to.</span></q></p>
<p><span>Say there’s some shiny new place opening up in the "it" neighborhood of the moment. Big name chef, bold-faced bartenders, gastro-whatever-fusion, and hip-to-the-minute décor. It has a great sound system, a flight of high-end flat screens, the latest technology in ordering and payment and whatever. You get the idea. The point is they start with everything you need to </span><i style="line-height: 1.5;">not</i><span> be a dive bar. Namely a big effort to get noticed and drive business. Now fast forward ten years. Neither the place nor the neighborhood are still hip; it is hemorrhaging staff and money; and the owners have decidedly moved on from their restaurateur phase (to produce films or whatever). So they sell. And they sell cheap. The last few years have been particularly difficult so there hasn’t been a lot in the way of repairs. Or cleaning. And so the new owner (singular) does exactly what it takes to open up; going with one bartender instead of four, cutting out everything but the basics of the bar, and serving a limited all-day menu. The televisions still work, mind you. The tech, a generation behind, still exists. The place still looks new-ish though now a bit retro. It opens. It attracts its few clients here and there but mostly it stays open by never spending a dollar it doesn’t have to. Not to attract guests. Not to make itself more appealing. And certainly not to re-brand itself as anything other than a place that serves drink. This—by definition—is now a dive bar.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, to say something or someone is not really making an effort comes off, in our culture and certainly in our country, as pretty strong criticism if not an outright condemnation. But in this context, it is meant to be a respectful compliment.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To explain why is going to tread precariously close to the kind of theoretical moralizing I warned about above, but it is worth the risk and here’s why:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because we are pretty much all set with the update. Because we are not wanting for the new version. Because we no longer have to wait more than a few months (or weeks) for the proverbial next big thing. They come hurtling at us in a feverish attempt to gain our attention and subsequent admiration, both of which have become entirely spoiled by all sorts of very smart people spending all kinds of time and money trying to repeatedly get our increasingly short attention and increasingly fickle admiration. And it is all just <i>straining</i> with effort. And it all has to <i>keep</i> straining because there is going to be something on the other side of town or other channel straining with even more effort to block out all those other efforts.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not so the dive bar.</p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right"><span>The dive bar is one of the very few businesses not really making an effort to get your attention.</span></q></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The dive bar is one of the very few businesses not really making an effort to get your attention. And if we’re really getting down to it, the dive bar—in the nicest possible way—simply <i>does not give a shit</i> about your admiration. Respect, yes. Admiration, no.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Which brings us all the way back to why Best Dive Bar is a problem. Because the dive bar may be the only bar out there not even remotely interested in winning such honors. It’s just not in its makeup. (Don’t believe me? Next time a real neighborhood dive picks up some Best Dive Bar award try going in and congratulating the bartender on their victory—preferably Elf-style—and let me know how that works out.) The dive bar is not, by nature, competitive.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(Think about that statement for just a moment, in the context of the entire rest of the restaurant and bar universe. Starting to understand why the lack-of-effort bit is in a way complimentary?)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And yet still, having begun by stating that the idea of Best Dive Bar still exists for us, as patrons, we are brought back to the question of how to evaluate which dive bars are better at being dive bars. Even if they are not interested in the question themselves. <span>So then what make the Best Dive Bar? How can a bar be the best at making the least effort?</span></p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-left"><span>Because the best dive bars are the dive bars you can count on. The ones that are there when you need a drink, and nothing else.</span></q></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By doing what it does consistently and reliably. Not for months, but for years. Because the best dive bars are the dive bars you can count on. The ones that are there when you need a drink, and nothing else. And that you can count on to be there in more or less the same way whether it was last May or this morning or ten years from Tuesday. The whole lack of effort is tied into a basic business model that is so simple and so efficient that the best dive bars remain open for generations, never needing to flip the menu or hire new staff or even remove the now illegal circa-1982 cigarette machine gathering dust in the corner. They simply do what they do. They open and serve drinks. Which is why the best dive bars are the ones that have been consistently there for people when they need a drink for the longest amount of time. It’s that simple.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And this is why we offer our definition with total respect for the dive bar. Because in a world of incessant strain to be something newer and better, of continual movement and transition and keeping up, in a world saturated with the effort of constantly <i>becoming</i>, the dive bar—like it or not, take it or leave—simply <i>is</i>. It is what it is. It is what it was. It is what it always will be, as long as the door is still open and there’s a place to set a drink.</p>
<p class="end">Honestly and yes, effortlessly.</p>
<p class="credit">Image: Shutterstock/<a target="_blank" href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shutterstock.com%2Fgallery-1433222p1.html&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fboston.eater.com%2F2014%2F10%2F23%2F7046703%2Fwhat-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-dive-bars" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">S_Photo</a></p>
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https://boston.eater.com/2014/10/23/7046703/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-dive-barsKnoefel Longest2014-10-23T15:00:03-04:002014-10-23T15:00:03-04:00Dive Bar Power Hour Starts Right This Second
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<p>As is tradition for Eater theme weeks, we're now powering through a straight hour of a sub-topic related to the larger theme. This time around, we're exploring the world of dive bars.</p> <p>Don't stray far for the next hour. On tap: a musing on the actual definition of a dive bar, a special dive bar-themed Board Wrap, a photo gallery, an interview with a local dive bar expert, and more. Right here, right now. Welcome to Dive Bar Power Hour.</p>
https://boston.eater.com/2014/10/23/7049289/dive-bar-power-hour-starts-right-this-secondRachel Leah Blumenthal