One Of Anthony Bourdain's Favorite Bars Was This Grubby Historic Miami Beach Spot

Even seven years after his untimely death, Anthony Bourdain continues to have an enigmatic power over those who yearn for raw travel experiences. The celebrity chef was known for his love of anything that was real and unapologetic. He highlighted places that didn't try hard to fit trends or cater to temporary preferences; places with a big enough personality to withstand the test of time. Such spots are usually small, laid-back joints like San Francisco's Swan Oyster Depot or Mac's Club Deuce in Miami Beach. He featured the latter in three of his shows and called it one of his favorite places on Earth.

To understand Bourdain's love for this hole-in-the-wall spot, one need only walk into it. Surrounded by the glamorous hotels and trendy restaurants that line Ocean Drive, Mac's Club Deuce is a lonely soldier taking a (perhaps hopeless) stand against the area's glitzy pretentiousness. Opened in 1926, the bar is a vestige of old Florida, when Miami was nothing but an unbearably hot small beach town filled with mosquitoes and sketchy characters. As the city grew, so did its prestige as a posh place to be. While Winston Churchill and Elizabeth Taylor frequented places like the Surf Club just north of South Beach, the Deuce (as locals call it) stayed dark, moody, and cheap. When Mac Klein bought it in 1964, he added himself in the bar's name and kept everything else pretty much the same. Today, the Deuce is widely considered the oldest bar in Miami.

Deuce's legendary status makes telling fact from fiction a difficult task. Was Kate Moss almost denied entry? Did a woman really beat a man with his own pet iguana? We may never know. What is true is that this joint continues to embody exactly what a dive bar should be. As you enter, it feels like you've walked into the Floridian version of a Wild West saloon. The lights are always low, bartenders only accept cash, and happy hour stretches from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The horseshoe-shaped bar allows drinkers to see each other at all times while the tightly placed stools force them to — gasp! — talk to each other.

You might rub shoulders with politicians, actors, regular Joes, or professional scammers (who seem to be common in Miami). Yet it's the owners who've proven to be one-of-a-kind. Both the late Mac Klein and his wife, Martha (who runs the show now), could've made a hell of a lot more money if they painted the place, put up boho chic lamps and decorated a wall with fake plants and neon pink letters that read something along the lines of "Brunch Time Is Fun Time." Instead, this family continues to keep this oasis safe from the opportunistic development that has changed almost every corner of Miami. In a city built on the feverish pursuit of excessive wealth, this is almost a heroic feat. Anthony Bourdain hoped this bar would never change. So do we.