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I keep reading sites
that refer to this bar as a "dive."
Clearly these people have never been in an actual dive, as they generally
don't have beautiful exposed brick walls, vintage wood plank floors,
pressed tin ceilings, a long ornate wooden bar, antique brass beer
taps and enough period reproduction lighting fixtures from Rejuvenation
to choke a horse. Perhaps there's some snobbery a foot here. Just
because the clientele occasionally wears hard hats, work boots and
that rat tail your eighth grade cousin had in 1987 doesn't automatically
mean the joint is low class or shabby in some way. Granted, in NYC
the dive has almost veered into theme bar territory. Just ask the
owners of the many Lower East Side bars with the torn and duck taped
banquets, many missing light bulbs, graffitied, metal front door and
Wild Turkey stink what they were going for. The true dive is actually
a dying institution, and Blue Ruin is certainly not adding to its
numbers. It is, in fact, a pretty stylish place, comfortable in its
classicness and friendly in a way few neighborhood bars seem to be
these days. Granted, I was there on a cold weekday night, and no bar
dancers or bra flingers were in site. In fact, I don't really recall
any undergarments or anything hanging from the chandeliers (as I've
seen in some photos), and the bartender, while clad in a low cut halter
of sorts, was neither breathing fire nor flirting with her cleavage.
She was, in fact, an extremely personable individual who knew how
to pour a beer, make small talk and keep the locals--all of whom happened
to be male--sufficiently plied with their "usuals." This
was certainly an upgrade from the old Why
Not Bar, overcoming the inferiority complex of being right next
to the Port Authority. Though it is a comfortable place, it could
do with a location move, as most folks don't really feel like getting
gutted under the PABT overpass after a nice night of Buds, low lighting
and the American Spirit. [MF]
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