By Sam Mondros
For my people, the unofficial Dec. 25 tradition is noodles and a matinee.And with its incredible Chinese food and array of movie theaters, San Francisco might be the best U.S. city to be a Jew on Christmas.
The best part: you don’t have to be Jewish to partake. We’ve compiled our picks for the best pairings of Chinese restaurants and movie theaters — including indies — in neighborhoods across the city. And because Christmas coincides with the first night of Hannukah this year, you can also sneak some latkes into the theater for a mid-show snack.
Downtown: AMC Metreon & Z&Y Peking Duck
Z&Y Peking Duck is a bit far from AMC Metreon — about a 25 minute walk. But Metreon is the closest movie theater to Chinatown, and the new sister location to old-school favorite Z&Y Restaurant is widely appreciated for serving some of the best duck in the city. Eat your fill, then enjoy a rare stroll down an empty Stockton street to a Christmas showing of “The Fire Inside.” The film has received rave reviews for its true story of a female boxer training for the 2012 Olympics.
Ingleside: Stonestown Regal Galleria & Ming Kee Restaurant
Standard reporter Han Li says Ming Kee Restaurant on Ocean Avenue in Ingleside is one of the best places in San Francisco for Cantonese cuisine. (He recommends the roasted duck.) Stonestown’s shops will be closed for Christmas, but you can still hit the theater. “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” have showtimes stacked against one another, allowing for a “Wickedator” double feature.
Japantown: AMC Kabuki & Dumpling Story
While Kabuki is, generally speaking, a bit too corporate for me, I appreciate its big screens and extensive selection of movies, and it always gives me an excuse to visit the Japantown Mall, one of my favorite places in the city. If you’re looking for a film you can’t see elsewhere, check out “Los Frikis” at 7 p.m. Certainly not a family movie, it delivers one of the most hardcore tales of HIV activism. Dumpling Story a few blocks away is our food pick in this neighborhood, for its acclaimed soup dumplings.
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Marina: Presidio Theater & Dumpling Union
With locations on Union Street as well as Haight Street, Dumpling Union is quick, affordable, and has a great selection (you can even buy frozen dumplings to make at home). As for a movie recommendation, this could be a good opportunity to let Ralph Fiennes teach you about ecclesiastical government. Oscar fave “Conclave” is showing at 3 p.m.
Mission: The Roxie Theater & Bao
Did you know that Martin Scorcese played Vincent van Gogh in a 1990 surrealist Japanese movie about dreams?Go to the 6 p.m. showing of Akira Kurosawa’s “Dreams” on 35mm in the Mission, and on the way, grab some hand-made dumplings from Bao, the always-packed restaurant where cooks pat dumplings by hand in the window. Something about people making things in storefront windows just screams festive.
Pac Heights: Vogue Theater & Eliza’s
Eliza’s is a classic. It reminds me of the Chinese restaurants my family visited on Christmas when I was growing up in Philadelphia. It has character, and it’s within walking distance of the Vogue Theater, the Pacific Heights sister to 4 Star and Balboa Theatre. Vogue has just one movie playing on Christmas: the Nicole Kidman vehicle “Babygirl,” showing at 3 and 6 p.m. How better to watch a sexy thriller than with a stomach full of fried rice and Mongolian beef?
Richmond: Balboa Movie Theater & Shanghai House
For a sleepy Richmond Christmas, we recommend you head to Shanghai House forpig knuckles with brown sauce. Then head across the street to the Balboa Theater, where you can watch Timothée Chalamet play Bob Dylan or Bill Skarsgård play a vampire.
Western Addition: Landmark & Golden Kim Tar
Landmark Opera Plaza is the only theater in town where you can catch the new movie “Wallace & Gromit: a Vengeance Most Fowl” — and if that doesn’t sell you on this indie theater in the Western Addition, I don’t know what will. Golden Kim Tar, two blocks away on Larkin Street, has fantastic General Tso’s chicken and great desserts.
