Wow. Remember college? (no matter where you went) Remember late nights in a smoky room with friends with whom you never thought you'd lose touch? I had a place... cheap drinks, layers of nicotine lining the walls, an old bartender running the place by himself and a smell that takes me back in a heartbeat...
Gene's is Oakland's classic college dive bar. You won't feel threatened here (like some dive bars) but you get the feeling that half the clientele is smoking because "we get it... and the rest of the world doesn't". There are also plenty of people who don't think they are better than you.
Be prepared to shower and wash your clothes immediately upon returning home from this place- it is smoky. But the cheap drinks and atmosphere make it throwback for the best of us. Good beer selection and a unique interior setting make for a cool vibe.
The bartender/owner (Gene) is a faux-crotchety old guy who doesn't put up with crap. He also runs a nice little business and I've been told he is/was a professor at Pitt (I don't have a citation... this is here-say). It's a hole-in-the-wall, but it's the right kind. I've mostly outgrown the blue-cloud-interior and camel-light part of my life, but if i ever need a quick reminder of my matriculating days, talking to good friends over cheap beer, each of us in our turn solving a global issue the outside world has been bungling for ages... well, I'll head to Gene's.