What makes a dive bar a dive bar? Some say that in order to fit the bill, a place should be dingy and old, with sticky floors, a dartboard or two, and six-packs for sale. Others award the title to ...

With peeling barstools, cheap beers and a well-worn pool table, America’s dive bars are the great equalizers. And one cozy Catskills spot just earned national recognition for getting it exactly right.

It's been an institution in Crescent Beach for decades, with its outdoor deck, pool table, video games, juke box, overpoured drinks, and yes, smoking.

The Midwest knows how to do dive bars right — gritty, unpretentious and full of character. These are the places where neon signs glow like old friends, jukeboxes hum with decades of memories and the ...