In River North's Dana Hotel, lobby restaurant Ajasteak is set to shorten its name to Aja next Thursday. The eatery also will get a revamped menu with lower price points and a focus on regional Asian cuisine prepared with local ingredients, according to chef Joshua Linton. (In the past, the menu offered Asian steak house fare.)
Selections on Aja's lunch menu will include Vietnamese bahn mi sandwiches served on baguettes and filled with Asian barbequed pork or catfish with chile mayo and mint. On the new dinner menu, sharable dishes will include iron-seared chicken teriyaki and suzuki sea bass with wok-flashed veggies. A snack bar will offer sushi, sashimi, ceviche, and crudo; and on the cocktail list, specialty drinks will include the "Saigon Collins" made with cucumber, ginger beer, and sake-infused vodka.
The venue's private dining capabilities will remain unchanged. On the second level, a sushi-bar-equipped space seats 25, while the semiprivate Tatami room can host dinners for 30.
