17th Street just got even <em>more</em> oyster-y

Because there's apparently been no dip in the market for bivalves that give you Berlusconi-like wang-thusiasm, Hank's is expanding with a spanking (hey now!) new bar and lounge doubling the size of the Dupont standby, and boasting a Corian marble bar, large skylights, and a private, cabin-like upstairs "yacht room", aka what T-Pain tells his tailor to leave in pants, as dude's gotta dance.

Lest those things get stuck on the way down, throat-lubing comes via all-new cocktails like the Cold Smoke with a float of ice-cold Scotch and flaming lemon rind, and a brunch-able vodka/ sparkling wine/ sherbet group drink for 10 called the "Church Lady Punch": ironically, strong enough to make today's SNL skits seem funny. In addition to the introduction of never-before-seen/eaten Hayden's Reef Oysters (whose unique flavor reportedly stems from a home in the lowest salinity estuary of the Chesapeake Bay), there's a fresh nibbles menu with everything from Old Bay peel n' eat shrimp, to housemade soft pretzels w/ beer cheese sauce, to a chorizo called "One Bite"...so maybe they're only good if you have two?

And should 10-person drinks and oysters still leave you wanting, they've also got a lineup of 10 new drafts like Bacchus Sour, Old Rasputin’s Imperial Stout, and Heavy Seas' Loose Cannon, also both a name for and something possessed by Berlusconi.