Oyster Fest at Hank’s Oyster Bar
This past Saturday, Hank’s Oyster Bar in Dupont hosted its seventh annual oyster fest. In an all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink affair, Hank’s offered a packed house a first-rate selection of everything buttery, briny and slippery to be found on a half-shell as well as craft droughts to wash them down.
Featuring oysters grown in every coastal area imagined, Hank’s filled its breezy lounge and bar area with shucking stations and buffets of fried oysters, flaky onion rings and popcorn shrimp. Guests gorged and slurped holding plates piled high while enjoying fine spring weather on the shaded patio.
Two friends went head-to-head in an “oyster-off,” consuming somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 oysters between them.
In addition to oyster fest, Hank’s has a lot to celebrate these days having become a D.C. mainstay since its opening in 2005 with two additional locations in Capitol Hill and Old Town Alexandria as well as being nominated for three Rammy Awards from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington in the categories of Everyday Casual Restaurant Of The Year, Cocktail Program of the Year and Favorite Gathering Place Of The Year.
Hank’s Dupont location recently began serving lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. The menu sports old favorites like the oyster or shrimp po’ boy with cayenne remoulade and Old Bay fries and a lobster roll with Old Bay fries as well as new creations like Hank’s grilled cheese with La Mancha goat cheese, Cabot white cheddar and house-made tomato jam on Pullman bread, and a grilled fish sandwich with arugula, tomato and Old Bay fries.
You’ll have to wait another year for unlimited oysters at Hank’s, but the half-price raw bar from 10 p.m.-midnight every night is a year-round bargain.
Richard is a freelance writer who enjoys building a healthy appetite with long runs around the city. When not logging the miles, he can be spotted training the palate at brunches, happy hours and food trucks.