Great Bars in NYC part 4: The Continental, the Dive

New York City is filled with many bars that wish to be dives. They hire decorators to create the dive look, create fancy drinks that sound like crap dive drinks, but their clientelle and price quickly reveal them to be faux dives trying to charm the jaded new yorker out of their drinking coin (Brother Jimmies, I am looking at you). However, there is a little place on St. Mark and 3rd that keeps the dive alive. How do I know it is for real?
1: The Bathroom should be condemned: It takes alot to be the foulest bar bathroom in NYC, but the Continental bathrooms are horrible. I had a friend who said she nearly went in the street in order to avoid these bathrooms. The smell alone (when people are not getting high in the bathroom, mind you) is enough to win the award.
2: The patrons look sketch: While its proximity to NYU means a fair amount of students, about half of the bar look like they are cruising for a fight. One hopes one day, the sketch half challenges the NYU half to a fight. The winner is me, in the corner, drunk and amused
3: The Bar is huge, but never full: This place may have the most tables of any bar I have been to, but it never fills up. This adds to its creepy vibe.
and the most important part of its divi-ness
4: THE DRINKS ARE DIRT CHEAP: Yes sir, $1:50 and $3 beers are the norm at old Continental, and it is the proud home of 5 shots for 10 bucks. Now when I mean five shots, I mean just about anything you are willing to shoot, they will give you five shot glasses of it for ten bones. J.D., check, Soco and Lime, check, Stoli mixed with the blood of the damned, triple checked.
The defining Continental moment happened at a bar across the street (thats how badass this place is). I went to a hip wine bar around the corner to meet Arsenal and his girl, who were attending a party for a friend of Ms. Arsenal. I was hanging out with Arsenal and a buddy of his from out of town, lamenting the overpriced, wacky wine and beer only bar, when I began singing the praises of the Continental's shot policy. Arsenal, always one to save cash, suggest we head over to the Continental and grab a round of shots as opposed to buying a glass of overpriced wine. So we head over, slam five J.D. shots between the five of us, and return to the party at the wine bar, richer men for the journey. We repeat this move about three or four times before just moving to a cheaper bar. A victory not just for the Dive Bar, but for New York City itself.
Thus stands the Continental. Sure, the staff sucks and the bar smells. But if you want to go to war and save the wallet, no one else gives you as much bang for your buck.