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
The Vintastic Five
By the taste, glass and bottle—Vegas’ best wine bars pour it on
March 31st, 2011
A good wine bar should provide three things: a convivial atmosphere, the opportunity to try a wide selection of wine at a reasonable price, and a few nibbles to balance the experience.
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Pre-Celine fare and delicious dispatches from Lebanon, Ireland and Greece
March 31st, 2011
The space next TO Republic Bar & Grill was until recently a Brazilian steak house. Now, it’s a Mediterranean restaurant and hookah lounge called Laziza, (9460 S. Eastern Ave., 570-7500), serving high-end Lebanese cuisine. The restaurant belongs to Steve Ramey, who had the highly touted Almaza, and food here is consistently excellent.
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A Toast to the Central Coast!
California’s storied region is the place to explore changing tastes in wine
March 31st, 2011
If you want to go to the source of wine trends in America, it’s only a day’s drive away, in and around California’s Central Coast. Right now, for example, the area is abuzz over albariño, viognier and other boutique grapes, whose popularity is spreading to wine shops and restaurants near you.
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They’re pronounced Sen-TRAL, Kom-SAH and Sah-KAY
March 24th, 2011
Superstar chef Michel Richard of Washington, D.C., was in town last week to celebrate his 63rd birthday, and to make a big announcement: He’s opening a branch of Central 24/7, his mega-successful D.C. restaurant, at Caesars Palace, in the space now occupied by what is a glorified coffee shop called Augustus Café.
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Wicked Good
Cosmo’s buffet has it going on, and on …
March 24th, 2011
Buffets aren’t my thing. So when I fairly rave about the Wicked Spoon, imagine how much you’ll enjoy it. I’ve had breakfast, lunch and dinner in this vast space, and haven’t had to wait in line once. Ironically, this is the only Strip buffet I’d line up for.
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Feel the Heat
Due Forni turns up the temperature on Summerlin’s pizza scene
March 17th, 2011
What happens to a neighborhood restaurant venture when an experienced food and beverage director like Alex Taylor, formerly of Wynn-Encore, teams up with a seasoned chef like Carlos Buscaglia of MGM Grand’s Fiamma? Good things, it seems.
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More burger mania, lady Pellegrino’s latest and great granola
March 17th, 2011
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Vegas’ New No. 1 Gastropub
P.J. Clarke’s rich authenticity and flavor will hopefully overcome its challenging location
March 10th, 2011
We may not yet have gastropubs such as The Breslin in New York or Waterloo & City in L.A., but what we do have are pubs with good food. Move over, Todd English: The new standard-bearer for this genre is a transplanted New York City bar/restaurant, P.J. Clarke’s, in the Forum Shops at Caesars. The only problem is a challenging location—too close to Joe’s Stone Crab, and hard to spot.
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Diner's Notebook
Impending Irish, impressed by Mina, and notes from Phoenix
March 10th, 2011
St. Patrick’s Day is nearly upon us, and with it comes Rí Rá Irish Pub (see Page 19), opening March 17 in the Shoppes at Mandalay Place. The menu will be creative. Look for culinary delights such as Irish potato cakes, pub wings with homemade Guinness barbecue sauce, whiskey garlic mussels, curried crab claws and baked goat cheese. Irish cuisine is no longer an oxymoron, and the Guinness should flow like an Irish stream.
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Diner's Notebook
Beard winners, Sedona revised and high-tech ice cream
March 3rd, 2011
Kudos to Vegas’ 2011 James Beard Award semifinalists Saipin Chutima of Lotus of Siam and Mitsuo Endo of Raku (both for Best Chef Southwest), Picasso for Outstanding Restaurant, and its sommelier Robert Smith for Outstanding Wine Service, and finally China Poblano for Best New Restaurant.
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