Max Jacobson's Background:
Max Jacobson is a food, wine, and travel writer with over 25 years' expertise and a devoted following. A native Bostonian, Max left a doctoral program in Linguistics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison to report on food and restaurants for the Los Angeles Times.
Explains Max, "I wrote a long letter to the dining editor, pointing out inconsistencies in the paper's Chinese food reviews. She hired me to see if I could do better." Max adds, "I had the reviewer job for 15 years."
Max Jacobson Today:
Max relocated from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in 1999 at the urging of his friend Wolfgang Puck, the first celebrity chef to open shop in Vegas. Max caught a cresting wave and has been Sin City's premier dining critic ever since. He writes for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, and he hosts dining events, festivals, and KNPR programs.
Says Max, "I've reviewed thousands of Vegas eateries ranging from battered carts ladling up Pueblan goat stew to Michelin-starred French culinary shrines." He is a co-author of Eating Las Vegas, the city's indispensable dining guide, updated annually.
Max has traveled to all 50 states and to "90 countries, give or take," he says. When he's not dining, writing, or traveling, Max can be found cycling in Southern Nevada's mountains or plying his luck in a Vegas casino's Texas Hold 'Em poker room.
Max Jacobson's Unique Ability:
There's more than one elite food and travel writer in the United States. But not a one shares Max's inimitable attribute. He speaks about a dozen languages including French, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, Swedish, German, Serbo-Croatian, Japanese, Cantonese, and Bahasa Indonesia. (Max can get by in Polish, Russian, Greek, Portuguese, Yiddish, Mandarin, Korean, Hindi, and Nepali.)
"Because I can talk to the locals pretty much wherever I travel, I can really get into the culture and cuisine," says Max. "I strive for my food and travel writing to convey this insider sense, and give my readers a real 'you are there' feeling."
Order Max's annual guide to Sin City dining, Eating las Vegas >>
Read and Reach Max:
- On his website
- On Vegas Seven
- In Eating Las Vegas, 2012 edition
- Via email
- On Twitter
Max's Hotel Features on Luxury Travel:
- The welcoming, stylish Hyatt 48 Lex Hotel in NYC
- A sociable Manhattan hotel atop one of the city's liveliest parks, W New York - Union Square
- L.A.'s strikingly designed beach hotel that channels Hollywood glamour, Viceroy Santa Monica
- San Francisco's serene Taj Campton Place Hotel
- The hotel that flaunts London's most brilliant location, Hyatt Regency Churchill
- The original grand hotel (1865!), newly renovated for a new century, The Langham, London
- A legendary French Riviera hotspot, Hotel Byblos
- A charming French-Basque seaside inn with a gifted young chef, La Réserve Saint Jean de Luz
- A Mexico City boutique hotel that's a nightlife magnet, Condesa DF
- A deluxe small hotel in Portugal's Algarve with a two-Michelin-star restaurant, Vila Joya
- A spectacular Relais & Châteaux hotel on wild Vancouver Island, the Wickaninnish Inn
- A modest-appearing Napa Valley hotel with an excellent restaurant, River Terrace Inn
Max's Dining Adventures on Luxury Travel:
- Max explores one of America's most beloved culinary travel destinations, Napa Valley, California
- Max's Tour de Québec tells you which 5 eateries are Quebec City's best restaurants
- Max ate his way through Mexico's capital to find Mexico City's Top Tables & Tastes
- Max's tasteful take on a must-visit Southern California dining destination, Terranea Resort
- Max's look at a handsome Manhattan hotel boasting not one but two Gordon Ramsay restaurants, The London NYC
- It wasn't easy, but Max picked the 5 Best Restaurants in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- A look at a Miami restaurant, the newest in the Milos empire of supreme seafood, Milos Miami
Max Takes on the World on Luxury Travel:
- His Tale of Two Cities, the high-speed Eurostar train from London to Paris
