Bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and a fried onion ring stacked high atop a half-pound of Angus beef all assemble to form the impressively tall Hank Burger at Hank’s Tavern & Eats. And during Happy Hour at this new Hyattsville restaurant, this massive sandwich costs just $5.99.
Opened last December, Hank’s offers the same Happy Hour specials every day, including the Hank Burger and $7.99 Supermugs (33.8 ounces of beer) from 3 to 7 p.m. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the specials run from 3 p.m. to the restaurant’s midnight closing time.
A 50-foot bar, 20 TVs and free Monday-night poker also sweeten the deal.
“Happy Hour every day isn’t so unusual, but I think the fact it’s so long and they have the same deals every day is,” said Clare Boyle, a 2009 alumna who regularly visited the restaurant and bar with her roommates for the “delicious” burger and other specials.
Hank’s menu goes further than just a good burger, however. Put together by Chef Geoff Tracy, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who owns the restaurant’s management company and other restaurants in the Washington area, the menu features Southern-comfort bar food with an upscale twist, such as the Texas-sized grilled cheese served with creamy tomato soup or the Very Gouda Grits.
Vegetarians can try the many salad options, the roasted portobello sandwich with spinach, peppers and goat cheese or the addictive sweet potato fries, to name a few.
“The food is really tasty,” said Renae Mayes, a master’s student in school counseling. “The portions are huge and quite satisfying.”
Mayes also pointed out that although Hank’s has lots of TVs like any rowdy sports bar would, it is different than a typical college pub.
“It wasn’t super loud, and the atmosphere is really intimate,” Mayes said. “It’s really clean, and the setup is nice.”
Located in the University Town Center next to the Regal Royale 14 movie theater less than two miles from the campus, the restaurant is accessible to students without cars via Shuttle-UM route 113. Students with cars can park for free for two hours in a garage just across from the restaurant.
“Hank’s is definitely worth the drive,” Mayes said. “It has more of an upscale feel than a lot of the places in around campus.”
General manager Steve Greehan said a good percentage of the restaurant’s patrons come from the university.
He said the restaurant also tries to attract people who work in the area for lunch and the large group of people who live in the area for dinner.
“It’s just a nice place,” Greehan said. “As far as the students go, I just think the great Happy Hour, the poker and the fact that we’re really into Maryland sports would be the biggest draws. If they know there’s a game on, they can be guaranteed that we have it.”
Greehan also said while some restaurants are struggling, Hank’s opened in an already-shrinking economy and has been doing just fine.
“We see it as if we’re doing this well in this economy, in a better economy we’d just be great,” Greehan said.
Hank’s is located at 6507 America Blvd. It is open 11:30 a.m. to midnight every day. Monday night poker games start at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. The grand prize is a $25 gift certificate to the restaurant. Their lunch and dinner menus, as well as a full list of their Happy Hour specials, can be found on their website, www.hankseats.com.
ga@umdbk.com
