Whether you’re an oyster afficianado or a newbie, it sure sounds like Hank’s Oyster Bar in D.C. is the place to go, according to writer Julie Hatfield.

Crispy and delicious fried oysters at Hank’s Oyster Bar.

If you happened to lose your taste buds, the texture alone of the oysters at Hank’s Oyster Bar in Washington, D.C., would be enough to put you in food heaven.

Take Hank’s fried oysters, for example:  Bite down on a slightly warm, non-greasy but nut-crunchy crust and into an interior that feels to the tongue like almost-melted brie – Perfect!  This is as good as eating a creature from the sea gets.

So popular are the oysters at Hank’s that the restaurants seem to sprout, Starbucks-like, on a new corner at regular intervals.  There’s a Hank’s at Dupont Circle, another at Capitol Hill, one in Old Town and the newest is at the Wharf, the latter the newish $2 ½ billion development of shops, offices, theaters, gyms, and marinas along the Potomac River.

The blackboard tells you where the oysters are coming from on any given day, as well as all of the menu offerings, including chicken!

Hank’s can give you oysters raw, of course, and dress them up in sake oyster shooters on the half shell.  Or you can ask for barbequed oysters, perhaps oysters in a po’boy, as well as the aforementioned canola-oil-fried gems. They come from some of the best oyster places, such as Maryland, Virginia and Washington.  But you can also get other offerings such as soft shell crab, mussels with bacon, scallops, and catfish, here.

Fried oysters in a po’boy along with cole slaw are two Hank’s Oyster Bar classics.

Hank’s is fun, and the waitresses’ T-shirt quotes reflect that, such as “Come Out of Your Shell.”  So do the cocktail names, such as “My Mama Says I Gotta Have My Veggies. . . But She Didn’t Say How.”

Goldfish crackers are on every table at Hank’s, and while the casual, whimsical ambience of these restaurants is just the opposite of what you’d expect D.C. political bigwigs and stuffy senators to embrace, it’s a beloved fixture of our nation’s Capitol. Maybe you could even forget the wrangling and stress-inducing activities on the Hill for a lunch while enjoying an oyster or two at Hank’s and sipping an “Amburana: the color of your energy,” with cochaca, Hennessey, allspice, maple and pecan flavorings and habanero bitters. Nice. — Article and photos by Julie Hatfield.

Hungry for more oyster-talk? George Washington loved oysters, and all sorts of seafood. Read “Drinking with George, Part 1” to find out where, near Washington D.C., you can eat and drink where George did.