Mercifully, and in the best possible way, the building still looks and feels like it wears the weight of its history in today’s incarnation of the space. Outside, a slight step down from street level creates that sense of sneaking into a friend’s basement for an after-hours beer, a feeling that accentuates the ground floor brick entrance. There is no blaring neon sign here to mark the New York dive bar, but rather a simple sign on the end of a long and ancient awning, the entire contraption ringed in Christmas lights. Some bar neon in the window provides further hint as to the contents inside, a Ukranian flag in one window a reminder of the neighborhood’s heritage.
The classic New York dive bar vibe can be found inside, tight quarters, well-aged woodwork, a long illuminated bar counter. The immediately recognizable signature feature of the Blue & Gold Tavern is seen to the right upon entry, the faded wood panels that run the length of this wall inscribed with what look to be very, very old depictions of village life. These amazing wood panels feature ancient wooden booths beneath them, hard wood benches that look like they might have been carved by the Slovak Warfare Club include short wooden extensions from the wall.
The bar itself contains a sporadic assortment of stapled monetary bills from the world, but they quickly give way to a simple selection of glassware and house liquor, all of it under a chalkboard that features rotating beer and cocktail offerings. The selection here is certainly friendly to dive bar domestic beer drinkers, but extends well beyond that, top shelf liquor at reasonable prices mixed in with cocktail suggestions. Large bulb Christmas lights set the vibe around the bar area, accentuated by spot and rope lighting throughout the space that throws the light on the ceiling to cascade down, a great plan to create a warm environment in an ancient building.
