Best of Boston

An establishment must meet certain criteria before it can rightfully call itself a dive. It must be dark. It must be cheap. It must have spartan decor. Most critically, it must not attract tourists. By all these standards, the People’s Republik earns the label. We love the surly waitstaff (expect a scowl if you waffle over an order) and the availability of both darts and hot dogs, which effectively cancel out the one potential dive-bar disqualifier: Ben Affleck is said to drink here sometimes when he’s in town.