Max Jacobson
Contributing Editor, Food
Contact: Email
Vegas Seven’s food critic started his career as a food journalist in Japan in the early ’80s. Since then, he has been a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and has written for a variety of national publications, such as Saveur and Gourmet. He's best known as an authority on Asian food, but he has rarely met a cuisine he doesn't like. He has covered the Vegas culinary scene since 2000.
Recent Articles
Diner's Notebook
One Hot Mess, One More Ramen, One Night at Nobu and a Really Long Table
February 21st, 2013
One Super Bowl commercial featured the Hot Mess Burger, a new sheriff in Fast Food City ($4.29, Jack in the Box). So your intrepid reporter felt compelled to run out and try one. And in spite of several umami-spiked ingredients—a seasoned beef patty topped with melted white cheddar, runny pepper jack cheese sauce, onion rings and jalapeños piled on toasted sourdough—it managed to be almost completely tasteless.
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Our Ramen Empire
Two new noodle houses have fans—and our critic—lapping it up
February 21st, 2013
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Hope for Ogden’s Harvest
February 21st, 2013
Serious food lovers were saddened when Las Vegas lost Bradley Ogden, one of America’s truly iconic restaurants, following a long run at Caesars Palace. Ogden did one of the best burgers in the world on his bar menu, had relationships with dozens of our best artisanal food producers, and his desserts, such as butterscotch pudding, have an international following.
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The New BurGR King
Gordon Ramsay’s most casual Strip concept might just be his most exciting
February 14th, 2013
With the opening of Gordon Ramsay BurGR at Planet Hollywood, the British chef completes his Las Vegas trilogy of restaurants. It’s ironic that he is now entitled to the mantle of Best Burger on the Strip. Bradley Ogden, the tenant that got 86’d at Caesars Palace to make room for his Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill, was the former champion.
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Diner's Notebook
The Best New Pie in Town, Lacking Lankan and Perhaps the Scariest Dinner Ever
February 14th, 2013
Chef Marc Sgrizzi—known to some of us as Marc Ritz of Parma on the Northside—has opened a pizzeria, Novecento 900, at 5705 Centennial Center Blvd. (685-4900), and it’s terrific. The pizzas cook at 900 degrees in an astonishing 90 seconds, and the crust comes up bubbly, blistered and chewy.
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Post-Caesars Departure, Bradley Ogden Returns to Las Vegas With Harvest & Hops
February 12th, 2013
It's time to celebrate: Chef Bradley Ogden will return to Las Vegas this year with a new concept, Harvest & Hops, at Tivoli Village in the space recently vacated by Bottles & Burgers.
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Tivoli's Second Wave
Poppy Den springs up from Petra's ashes and positively takes off
February 7th, 2013
Angelo Sosa, the young, movie-star-handsome chef at the new Poppy Den in Summerlin, is a protégé of Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Like his mentor, Sosa is a world traveler; as I write this, he is consulting on a project in Korea. The result of his wanderings is a menu filled with whimsy, imagination and bold flavors.
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Diner's Notebook
Fat Choy Ahoy, Bellagio Ups its Epicurean Series Game, and Ramsay Makes Nice
February 7th, 2013
Sheridan Su—a French-trained, Chinese-American chef who ran a terrific food truck, Great Bao—has surfaced in a new venture, Fat Choy in the Eureka Casino (595 E. Sahara Ave., 794-3464). And it’s here he’s being given a chance to showcase his unique gifts. A sign over the door tells us we are in for Asian-American fare. And how!
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Filet Fatale
SHe by Morton’s—a steakhouse for young, single women and the men who want to impress them
January 31st, 2013
We’ve just sunk down into our lavish, semicircular leather booth at SHe by Morton’s, a nightlife-inspired restaurant that is the second incarnation of the space originally home to Beso, when a basket of rolls brushed with cloyingly sweet honey-cinnamon butter arrives.
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Diner's Notebook
What Aria’s refreshed buffet says about you, plus Simon says, ‘eat’
January 31st, 2013
The vaunted Las Vegas buffet is as much a part of the local landscape as blackjack tables, strip clubs and the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. The Buffet at Aria (590-7111) has undergone a complete remodel, and it’s a considerable improvement. But what I find more interesting is what it says about what we are eating in America right now.
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