Heart of Semi-Darkness

Your meal at Hank’s Oyster Bar, a small seafood chain in the Washington, D.C. area, always ends in something sweet, even if you don’t order dessert: a petite glass bowl loaded with chunks of dark chocolate, a gift from the house. As with most gifts, you don’t ask questions. You just savor the morsels, as the chocolate crumbles and slowly melts, releasing buttery, subtly fruity flavors across your tongue.