Comments on: This Just In: Greenspun Media Group Lays Off Veteran Food Writer

By: lower back pain medicine

lower back pain medicine — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:35:34 +0000

I am not new to blogging and truly value your blog. There is much innovative subject that peaks my interest. I am going to bookmark your web site and keep checking you out.

By: AllModCons

AllModCons — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:19:46 +0000

Last time I checked Max wasn’t dead yet. He most definitely knows his stuff and certainly (despite dealing with small town politics and hand shaking) educated a hell of a lot of people. Which is what he is supposed to be doing. I don’t think I’ve had a bad or even mediocre meal because Max had to be friendly. And perhaps that is where you can draw the ethical line with a critic here. That’s the game for Vegas- and all of you comp-crazy cronies thrive on it. You know who you are. Another step backwards for a transition to a real city. Are we just a coal town secretly parading as a bustling metropolis? Seems likely. Best to you Max. Next time I’ll buy. Time to get back to the mine…

By: Bonnie Fogel

Bonnie Fogel — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:03:55 +0000

Max, the best of luck to you in your future endeavors! Your breadth of food knowledge is amazing. We could always tell when you really adored something, rather than when you were just “reviewing” it. I hope that our paths will cross again!

By: David

David — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:20:11 +0000

How many times in the past 5 years has a restaurant reviewed by Max received a poor review? Very few times. Everytime I read one of his “reviews” I always say before reading it that it will be an excellent review.

By: Ken

Ken — Mon, 04 May 2009 04:17:41 +0000

I’ve known, and eaten with Max, for over three years now and can say he’s truly one of my favorite dining companions ever. In addition to being a damn good food writer, and someone who has forgotten twice as much about food and wine then I’ll ever know, eating with Max is and always be pure entertainment. He has literally eaten everything, everywhere, and not only retained an amazing amount of food knowledge but all sorts of other little snippets and stories from his 35+ years of travels. And did I mention that he speaks about a dozen languages to boot? Keep the great food tips coming, you don’t need GMG for that. PS – great call on Thai Pepper – even if they were out of Thai BBQ chicken. The duck larb made a nice substitute.

By: Judy Jenner

Judy Jenner — Mon, 04 May 2009 03:14:57 +0000

I agree, how can we all live without Max’s discoveries or semi-secret gems hidden in awful locations we could never find? Thanks, Max, for all your fantastic finds, insightful articles, and wealth of (multilingual, sometimes) dining advice. The food section is (was) always my first read in the Weekly, and perhaps the only decent section in VEGAS magazine. So Max, former colleague and fellow foodie: thanks for everything, and keep on doing what you are doing, wherever that is, but don’t leave us food review groupies hanging. Ah, and for all your love of the German language, luckily, there’s no such thing as unter-food critic. You’ll always be the über-food critic. Well, you and JC will have to share that prize….Ich wünsche dir weiterhin ganz viel Erfolg.

By: EC Gladstone

EC Gladstone — Sun, 03 May 2009 03:29:20 +0000

The silencing of Max Jacobson’s voice is a huge loss for Las Vegas. There are only a few truly world-class writers of any stripe in the city, and Max is one. What distinguished Max was not only his powers of observation and expression, nor his breadth of experience, but also his insatiable interest in finding interesting food on all levels of eating, from street to 3-star, and his dedication to covering the valley far beyond the Strip.
Vegas is too small a town to truly be an anonymous critic for long, and it takes a gargantuan amount of humility and sense of purpose to stave off influence from all sides. Some reviews might have been more inspired than others (and critics who agree all the time don’t have much reason to exist), but in the balance, I think Mr Jacobson can look back with a lot of pride.

Sincerely,
The guy who writes the text to go along with those softcore stories in Vegas magazine (thx to Melinda <3)
(and also the guy who made sure there was a picture of Chef Trotter *in the kitchen* in my James Beard Foundation event story)
(oh, and the current softcore cover story of Venetian Style, which I angled around a visit with CT)

By: Peach

Peach — Sat, 02 May 2009 21:38:16 +0000

Max,

Thank you for all your support over the years. I wish you well. What Vegas needs in my humble opinion is for all of you guys to get together & come up with an agreed upon rating system for restaurants. 1-4 stars perhaps. Then create a website or use ELV to post honest ratings that Vegas restaurant operators can trust & be proud to earn. We need something besides suspect Michelin to inspire us to get better each year. This is what makes Vegas different than other major food cities & keeps perpetuating the idea that we are all show. Vegas desperatly needs a “Feared critic” to keep great restaurants from becoming fat & lazy. I don’t think advertising would be a problem, but you would need to stay away from hotels & restaurants. If all the chef’s, owners, & operators in Vegas were tuning in, I’m sure there would be a plethera of advertisers signing up. Wineries, liqours, food products, kitchen equipment, uniform companies, online concierge services, etc………I dare say you could even make some money. That’s all I got.

Cheers!

By: Jan Keiserman

Jan Keiserman — Sat, 02 May 2009 21:37:53 +0000

Max, I only wish I owned a magazine so I could give you a job! Good luck in the future and thanks for always trying to tell it like it is regardless of the consequences. And to your ex-employer I’ll add that often “you don’t now what you got til it’s gone!” To John Curtas, I recently regaled Vegas with many of the same criticisms and then some yet, 1) I ended up winning a readers contest I didn’t know existed!(nice prize too…) & 2) it seems as if VEGAS took my letter to heart as I complained of what you spoke and argued that it was hardly the upscale kind of glossy it should aspire to being; they have since eliminated the “scene”photos and articles of young bimbos and put more upper crust philanthropic photo spreads in their place- at least it’s a start. But John, here’s a word of advice: if you put glossy paper in a bird cage you’ll end up with pee all over the place. Perhaps instead you should use the editorial section of the RJ since it is absorbent (and that’s the ONLY good thing I can say about it!)

By: rjwong

rjwong — Sat, 02 May 2009 21:28:45 +0000

Max,

My condolences on your recent exit (or is it perhaps a blessing in disguise?).

If you have some time on your hand, drop by Los Angeles to say hello.