Gold Star Bar has been on Division Street in Wicker Park since around 1933 or 1934, which makes it one of the older continuously operating bars in the neighborhood. The setup is simple: $3 PBR, free pool, a jukebox, free popcorn, and cocktails that do what cocktails are supposed to do.

The staff is friendly and the regulars know each other. It's the kind of place that anchors a neighborhood long after the neighborhood changes around it, which Division Street has done several times since Gold Star opened. A proper dive bar in the original sense.