Set to sparkle

With its much-anticipated June opening, Back Bay restaurant Red Lantern showed the nightlife impresarios at Big Night Entertainment Group in their best light. Thanks to its praiseworthy pan-Asian food by chef Kevin Long and its ultra-glam interior, which we deemed "Haute Design" in our annual Hot 100 issue, Lantern added a fine feather to the company's cap. (Its other properties include the Estate nightclub and Foxwoods spots Shrine, the Scorpion Bar, and High Rollers.) So please pardon us if we're especially eager to see what happens in 2012, when Big Night opens GEM (42 Province Street, Boston). Set to open early in the year, the restaurant and lounge is aiming to be an aesthetic love letter to private English dining clubs and Jacques Garcia's so-chic-it-must-be-French Hôtel Costes - but with none of the haughty pretension. Head designer John Stefanon (who crafted the interior for another area hotspot, District) will bring jewel-toned colors, mosaic floors, and dark wood furnishings. And chef Long will serve up an extensive menu of comfort food that's been tricked out like Xzibit's latest ride: think white-corn quesadillas with duck confit or tater tots with green onions and Russian dressing. Hey, Big Night? Shine on.