aja (now closed) The Dana gets a steakhouse

When choosing between two indulgences, the best path is often, "why not have both?" (unless you're John Belushi, in which case, "why not have neither?" might be the call). For a 2-in-1 culinary binge, hit aja.

A 2-story, red/metallic-silver-hued lounge-aurant housed in the dana hotel, aja seeks to balance "the masculinity and pulse of a Chicago steak house...with the gentle sensibility and harmony of Asian cuisine" (picture a marblized Hello Kitty rocking a vintage Steve McMichael jersey). Meat comes three ways: corn-fed American prime (filet mignon, bone-in ribeye, hangar steak, NY strip), Australian & American sourced Wagyu (flatiron, filet mignon, NY Strip), and Kobe flown in weekly from Japan, priced by the ounce, continuing your unfortunate trend of buying things by the ounce. The maximally fresh sushi's also globally sourced (Hawaii, Belize, etc), then rolled into goodness like jalapeno'd hamachi w/ scallion chimichurri, Ebi shrimp & asparagus, and "Creamy Lobster Salad" -- hopefully a roll, and not a never-actually-tried maneuver from UrbanDictionary.

Booze wise, aja sports a robust scotch list, but also carries 30 small-batch, hand-crafted sakes, with flights served in traditional masu boxes -- exercise restraint, or you'll soon find yourself asking, "why not have all 30?"