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Max Jacobson, a former Los Angeles Times restaurant reviewer who moved to Las Vegas in 1999, was hit by a car two days before Christmas and left seriously injured. To help with his medical expenses, top chefs including Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, Thomas Keller, Bradley Ogden and others will cook at a series of Las Vegas benefit dinners, starting Jan. 19 at Moonen’s Rx Boiler Room at the Mandalay Bay hotel. Tickets are $1,000 a person with all proceeds going to Jacobson and his wife. The series has a Facebook page.
"It’s a remarkably generous effort to help Jacobson, who is restaurant critic for the magazine 'Vegas Seven,'" S. Irene Virbila writes in the LA Times. "After covering Orange County (and the San Fernando Valley) for the Los Angeles Times for 15 years, Jacobson moved to Vegas in 1999 to take the lead restaurant critic job at Las Vegas Life. He is co-author of 'Eating Las Vegas,' a guide to the city's restaurant scene, written with fellow food writers Al Mancini and John Curtas."
Henderson, Nevada police are investigating the incident, which occurred while Jacobson was in a crosswalk. Doctors had placed Jacobson in an induced coma due to serious head injuries, and this week week brought him out of the comas. He remains in critical condition. Jacobson turned 64 on New Year's Eve.
From Vegas Seven on Dec. 28:
Jacobson, a contributing editor for Vegas Seven, was on his morning walk to the gym when he was hit at a crosswalk at the intersection of Windmill Parkway and Pecos Road in Henderson. Doctors describe him as in critical condition, and say they plan to keep him in the coma at least through Monday in an attempt to reduce the pressure on his brain.
Jacobson’s family has created a page on the website CaringBridge.org where friends and loved ones can read updates on his condition and leave messages of support. Well-wishers can also contribute funds to support Jacobson’s recovery directly to the following Wells Fargo account: Setu Jacobson, account number 3110223066, routing number 582506501.“The staff was hit hard by this news, and we’re all praying for Max and his wife, Setu,” says Phil Hagen, editorial director for Vegas Seven parent company WENDOH Media. “Max is not only one of the most knowledgeable food writers this city has ever seen, but he is a great man all around.”
A family spokeswoman on the CaringBridge site says tonight that Jacobson "remains in critical condition and we now understand that this phase could take days and possibly weeks before we see signs of responsiveness."
