Christmas Miracle: Big Lantern Becomes the Mission's Hottest Restaurant

There was a sense of hungered panic on Valencia Street Christmas night.  Cabs barreling into the neighborhood from the Metreon, full of lightly starved folks looking to cap off their Jewish Christmas, only to find the entire Mission shuttered.  Even Mission Chinese Food took the night off.  Oy vey.

With the scene looking grim, Mission Chinese's normal “fuck this shit” line migrated the brightly lit oasis that was Big Lantern. And we here at Uptown Almanac are happy to see Big Lantern finally get their due respect, with their deliciously perfect mid-tier vegan meats and overly-salted-yet-absolutely-divine dim sum, even if it was a Christmas fluke.

(Hope you had a great holiday, everyone!)

Comments (5)

Ha, as a jew, I ate at La Oaxaqueña that night. Excellent chicken mole there, and the owner allows you to bring beer in from the liquor store next door.

Also, their banana leaf tamales are the best.

Also, sshhhhh.

That place is delicious, and nobody can argue with $6 lunches with table service.

I grew up working in my family’s chinese restaurant and Christmas and NYE were always the busiest nights.

Chinatown is the place to go on Christmas. Lots of places were open and most had a long wait.