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
Clone of A Lucky Star
January 24th, 2013
no puns, please—is the new Chinese restaurant in the HRH Tower at the Hard Rock Hotel, the name taken from a Chinese pictogram for “luck.” The chef is a local dynamo named Ming See Woo, a fixture on the local dining scene since the mid-’70s.
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A Lucky Star
Woo’s Fú has the stuff to charm the Hard Rock Hotel’s gamers and partiers alike
January 24th, 2013
Fú—no puns, please—is the new Chinese restaurant in the HRH Tower at the Hard Rock Hotel, the name taken from a Chinese pictogram for “luck.” The chef is a local dynamo named Ming See Woo, a fixture on the local dining scene since the mid-’70s.
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Diner's Notebook
The best tres leches, not-quite New York Chinese and meet the bonbon king
January 24th, 2013
No matter how many times I visit Border Grill at Mandalay Bay, executive chef Mike Minor always manages a surprise, or two. I always cite this place as the example of how wrong-headed it is to say that we don’t have great Mexican food in Las Vegas.
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The Prodigious Son
Chef Bryan Forgione, product of an American culinary dynasty, steps into his own at Society
January 24th, 2013
Bryan Forgione, the new executive chef at Society Café in Encore, took over when Kim Canteenwalla left to open his own Summerlin restaurant, Honey Salt, and so far, the transition looks and feels entirely seamless.
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The Eyes Have It
Lured back to the Strip, chef Joe Elevado’s vibe-y new pre/post is both trendy and on-trend
January 17th, 2013
The sensuous, color-shifting eyes flashing over the bar at Andrea’s, the new Asian fusion restaurant at Encore, belong to Steve Wynn’s wife, Andrea, taken from a photograph by local shutterbug Denise Truscello. Indeed, everything about this build-out, from chic décor by Todd-Avery Lenahan to the Japanese-anchored menu by Nobu alum Joe Elevado, is an eye-opener. It’s hard to remember this room was once Switch.
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Diner's Notebook
Crave-worthy Creole, hot Chinese, and a food court do-over
January 17th, 2013
New Orleans-bred chef Carlos Guia, who opened the late, lamented Commander’s Palace at the Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood), is adept at all things Cajun and Creole. He makes the best gumbo in town, not to mention shrimp étouffée, incredible beignets, and specials such as pheasant-and-foie gras potpie just before Mardi Gras at the Country Club in Wynn (770-3463). In other words, right now through the first two weeks of February.
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Diner's Notebook
A delicious sojourn, a proper steak and Henderson’s new Asian Bistro beckons
January 10th, 2013
One of the world’s most exclusive resorts lies 260 miles northeast of Las Vegas, in Canyon Point, a protected valley in Southern Utah. Amangiri is part of Aman Resorts, an ultra luxurious hotel company with two dozen properties worldwide.
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Safe But Sound
Ramsay takes a walk on the mild side with his second Strip spot
January 10th, 2013
Everybody who’s anybody in Las Vegas, to paraphrase the writer John Gregory Dunne, goes by one name. Cher does Vegas. Celine does Vegas. So does Gordon.
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Diner's Notebook
California dreamin’, a Dos Caminos do-over and savoring India’s Ayurvedic tradition
January 3rd, 2013
San Diego has the unusual quality of being a great escape for Las Vegans not only in summer, but also in winter; the weather there is amazing. On a recent December visit the temperature was 74 degrees with not a cloud in the sky.
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A Fresca Outlook
Newly arrived Cantina Laredo boosts Tivoli Village with its moderately priced, neighborhood-friendly Mexican fare
January 3rd, 2013
Tivoli Village started slowly, but things have picked up of late, and the mall, which still feels like a poor relation of Boca Park, should gather steam in 2013. I like their chances.
Part of my optimism is based on a number of new restaurants slated to open. Angelo Sosa is about to launch an Asian fusion restaurant, Poppy Den; and creative L.A. chef Sam Marvin will reveal a steakhouse called Echo & Rig sometime in spring.
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