I like a dive. I like a bar to be a little dirty, dimly lit and be stocked not only with beer, but also with griping customers. Oscar’s, at 1416 SW 15th St., satisfies all requirements.

?Just after six o’clock on a Wednesday, the atmosphere was thick with a Dale Earnhardt vibe. The folks seated at the bar seemed pretty blue-collar and they made fun of the people in the commercials on T.V.

“What an idiot.”

“I’d never fall for that.”

Good folks really. They stared at my fiancee and I when we first walked in. There seemed to be an assessment of us two strangers and then they ignored us. Not in a snotty way, but in an accepting way. Maybe the way you let a cricket hang out in your bedroom because it doesn’t present a threat. You step on a spider, but you let the cricket stay for a while.

The crowd that night held an average age of somewhere between 35 and 45. There were some couples and singles, and a big table full of people (co-workers was my guess). I just observed this time through Oscar’s. I didn’t feel comfortable trying to strike up a conversation with the bartender or customers, they seemed so at ease with themselves that I thought it might be an intrusion.

If I had wanted to entertain myself, a pool table is there, a lot of dartboards and a pinball machine.

The prices are standard and they offer a couple of specials on certain days. Oscar’s is not a “date” bar, but go out with your friends and have a good time there. However, I suggest you keep it relatively mellow and I’d think about “un-popping” collars and “un-cocking” hats before having a drink.