Stop in Duke’s Alehouse & Kitchen, for lunch, dinner or for after hours and you will see why it is one of Crystal Lake’s favorites. A friendly, upscale yet casual bar and restaurant, featuring great food and exquisite craft brews.
Duke’s is known for using locally sustainable meat & produce as well as providing vegetarian offerings every day. The restaurant has earned a 3-Star Green Dining Certification. This is an incredible accomplishment. This honor was achieved through energy and water conservation measures, and by serving food purchased from local vendors, using certified organic, vegan and sustainable seafood. If their great tasting food wasn’t reason enough to support this establishment their efforts on the behalf of their clientele should be.
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.
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.
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/events/. Here are some 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.
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