Zak Dolezal

Zak, how would you describe your restaurant?

We are an upscale-casual gastropub  featuring gourmet sandwiches and comfort foods using local and sustainable produce, meats, fish, and cheeses as well as serve over 140  American craft beers and Belgian ales. We also feature live entertainment Thursday through Sunday, with everything from from Karaoke and Live Bands, to a unique style Game Show on Sundays.

Comfortable Atmosphere

How did you happen to pick Crystal Lake for your location?

Well we started as Duke O’Brien’s back in 1996, mainly as an Irish pub, but after culinary school and my training as a chef, I wanted to put more emphasis on our cuisine and offer organic, local, and sustainable foods at fair prices. So in 2004 we acted on that vision and Dukes Alehouse & Kitchen was born.

So, what is your favorite menu item?

That’s  a tough question. Today…the beet salad. Tomorrow…the Brunch Burger with Grass-fed Beef.  We have our regular menu with customer favorites plus several daily specials featuring what is fresh that day, so picking just one thing is impossible.

Dukes has such a great following, what do you attribute that to?

I think we focus on what our customers are looking for. We serve fresh, local ingredients and that makes a huge difference in the quality of our food. We also offer many vegetarian and gluten free options and daily specials which are also popular.

I have heard of Meatless Mondays, do you have any other regular specials?

Yes, every week we have daily drink and food specials like MEATLESS Mondays,where we have select vegetarian menu items at ½ price and all of our daily specials are vegetarian as well. currantly the rest of the week looks like this - Tuesdays: $2 Chips and Salsa! $4 Burgers!
WHEATLESS Wednesdays: With Gluten-Free Pizzas, Gluten-Free Pasta, and a Gluten-Free wrap. Also Free Bacon Fat Popcorn 9pm till Close. Thursdays: Do-It-Yourself $5 foot long pizzas- any 3 ingredients. Fridays: Fish Fry or Fish Tacos $13 and on Sundays: Kids Eat Free (one free Kids’ menu option with each adult entree purchased)

Huge Selection Of Craft Beer

It sounds like there is always something happening at Dukes what are some of your other events?

There is always something happening, For a full calender of events visit our website http://thedukeabides.com/2011/, but here are a few of our favorites.

We are very proud to host ‘Green Drinks’, a National organization, that gathers green-minded people for drinks, food, and fun. The 1st Wednesday of every month from 5-7pm. Go to http://www.greendrinks.org/IL/Crystal+Lake for current month’s featured topic and speaker.

Another favorite is ‘Beer School’, if you ever dreamt of going to school and learning about beer, here’s your chance. We host a monthly Beer School with different topics every month, from pairing foods with Thanksgiving dinner to learning the ins and outs of IPAs. Earn your beer degree for $25-$35 (cost varies) per guest, which includes several different beer tastings that are paired with seasonal food. The second Wednesday of every month from 7-9pm.

Duke’s Alehouse and Kitchen
110 North Main Street
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
P: 815.356.9980, F: 815.356.3945
www.thedukeabides.com
http://www.facebook.com/dukesalehouse

Hours of Operation:

Kitchen
S-Th: 11:30AM-9:00PM
F-Sa: 11:30AM-10:00PM
Bar*
S-Th: 11:30AM-1:00AM
F-Sa: 11:30AM-2:00AM
Serves Alcohol
Catering and Banquets visit http://thedukeabides.com/2011/?page_id=29
Kids Menu with Gluten-Free Options
Reservations Accepted
Casual Attire
Weekly Entertainment:

*Must be 21 or older to attend after 10:00 PM.