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Hank’s Oyster Bar
By Andrew Kahn

“So we’re kind of new to this whole oyster thing…” my sister shyly says as the waiter approaches. My sister and I sit and wait expecting a pretentious scoff followed by a carefully rehearsed list of the available crustaceans. However, the response we actually received was the exact opposite.

With a genuine smile our waiter replies “no problem at all, let me walk you through it.”

Hank’s Oyster Bar is an oasis of relaxation located on King Street, the busiest of places in Old Town. While the street can be loud from the traffic and crowds, the volume of the restaurant is reasonable; parties are able to converse without having to raise their voices. The tables are relatively close together and even though other party’s conversations are audible, it makes the dinner seem like a large family dinner with multiple conversations rather than a nuisance. The waiters and the bartender are constantly talking with customers providing the place with a friendly neighborly feel.  READ MORE..

The Dish:  Female Forces
Washington women Chefs whip up culinary magic in the kitchen.

Jamie Leeds

Hank’s Oyster Bar Culinary Chops: New York’s The Globe, Washington Terrace Hotel/15 ria, National Board of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, featured chef James Beard Foundation Culinary philosophy: Let food taste like what it is. Handle food as little as possible to bring out the inherent flavors. Love what you cook and that will come through to the person eating it. Biggest career influence: Danny Meyer. He has mentored me through my whole career. He sent me to France to work for a year and that changed my whole outlook on cooking. Favorite dish to make: Whole baby lamb. I love cooking outside and spit-roasting whole animals. You get different textures and flavors when you roast a whole animal.  READ MORE…

She’s the woman behind the oysters at Hank’s Oyster Bar in Dupont and Old Town Alexandria—she even closed her gastropub Commonwealth earlier this year to focus on what she calls her love, Hank’s. Now Chef Jamie Leeds is serving her famous seafood at tomorrow night’s Signature Chef’s Auction, which benefits the March of Dimes (get tickets here before they sell out). I got a few minutes of her time recently, and she told me about what’s she’s preparing for the event. Plus, she Bitched at me about brunch in D.C. and how her son, Hayden, is a budding restauranteur.   READ MORE

Sourced: The dual-purpose bivalves of Dragon Creek by David Hagedorn

When Bruce Wood’s father was dying 30 years ago, he told his son: “You’re the smart one. I want you to do something about cleaning up this bay.” Two decades later, Wood began to fulfill the promise of restoring the Chesapeake’s waters. His mode of choice: oysters.

Wood uses discarded shells to create an ecosystem in which oysters can grow and thrive, a small-scale version of the Oyster Recovery Partnership in Maryland. But what started as a way to help clean the bay — one oyster filters 50 gallons of water a day — has become a business. Nine years after he seeded his first 500 larvae, Wood sells thousands of oysters under the Dragon Creek name every week to 16 Washington-area restaurants.

His biggest client by far is Jamie Leeds, chef-owner of Hank’s Oyster Bar in Dupont Circle and Alexandria, for whom Wood last year started growing a signature oyster. During deliveries to Hank’s and other restaurants, he picks up spent shells, brings them back home and unloads them onto his one-acre reef.  READ MORE..

Today Express Night Out has released its best of DC special issue, which includes picks for dining and nightlife.   Best Seafood: Hank’s Oyster Bar!  READ MORE

Seafood: Hank’s Oyster Bar

Chef Jamie Leeds brings the best of Maine to both Hank’s locations, which are either the swankiest lobster shacks ever or the most casual fancy fish places. Start with a selection of half-shell bivalves, then move on to the lobster roll, which is squishy and sweet. K.P.K.  READ MORE

Bruce Weinstein, coauthor of Cooking Know-How, chef Jamie Leeds, Hank’s Oyster Bar, Scott Greenberg, The DC Examiner’s Vine Guy, and Kevin Reynolds, Regional President of Cardinal Bank, 10th Annual Hearts Delight

WASHINGTON – This year a national group called Women Chefs and Restaurateurs will have a new president: Jamie Leeds, a chef and restaurant owner from D.C.

HAIL TO THE CHEF: The 2,000-member Women Chefs and Restaurateurs elected a new president last month, and she’s local. Read more>>