Many of the dishes at Around the Clock are named for the owners, their wives and their kids.
Easy to understand for a place that was started by a father and, later, owned by his sons. Brothers Steve and Fano Theosanous took over the Crystal Lake business in 1983 after they grew up bussing tables in high school.
“What makes us different is our in-house bakery. We’re known for our pies. We have all fresh ingredients. We hand-roll the dough. For our caramel apple pie, we start with Granny Smith apples and peel them, put caramel inside the pie and melt caramel on top,” Steve Theosanous said, adding that Around the Clock specializes in sports-themed cookies for Chicago teams.
Other popular items include Andrea’s vegetarian sandwich, named after Steve’s middle daughter. It has grilled eggplant, zucchini, green and red peppers, onion, artichoke hearts and mozzarella cheese on French bread. Fano’s club includes turkey, bacon, avocado, lettuce and tomato between two grilled pitas. Steve’s omelet is stuffed with ham, mushrooms, green pepper, black olives and cheese.
Around the Clock offers a full breakfast menu including a skillet deluxe full of American-fried potatoes (or hash browns), diced ham, onion, green pepper and mushrooms, topped with shredded cheddar cheese and two eggs any style. But the most popular breakfast item is one called “our famous jackpot” with two eggs, two sausage links, two bacon strips and all-you-can-eat pancakes.
“Two to start out with, although most people stop with two because they can’t eat any more,” Steve Theosanous said.
Over the past 35 years, the family restaurant has served generations of customers. “Now they have their own children and for me that’s a big joy,” Steve Theosanous said.
The brothers have no plans to expand to more locations. “We’d rather have one restaurant and run it well than have more and run them as mediocre restaurants,” he said. “We take pride in the culture we have here.”
Pricing: Breakfast from $4.95 for short stack pancakes to $13.95 New York strip steak and eggs. Skillets from $7.75 for Popeye skillet to $9.45 for lo-carb steak skillet. Appetizers from $5.25 for cheese pizza to $8.45 for the appetizer combo. Salads from $6.75 for Caesar salad to $8.75 for LA salad. Signature sandwiches from $6.95 for stir-fry chicken or beef pita to $7.75 for chicken and avocado. Hot sandwiches from $7.25 for 1/2-pound hamburger to $7.45 for hot roasted turkey. Burgers include the guacamole jack cheeseburger for $6.45. Entrees from $8.25 for pasta to $13.95 for broiled skirt steak. Homemade pies from $2.95 for cream pie slice to $14.95 for caramel apple pie. Fountain items from $4.25 milkshakes to $5.75 for tutti fruitti sundae.
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Hours: 6 a.m.-midnight Sunday-Thursday, 6-1 a.m. Friday-Saturday.
Around the Clock is at 5011 Northwest Highway, Crystal Lake. Contact 815-459-2100 or go to www.aroundtheclockrestaurant.com
Shonda Talerico Dudlicek is a freelance reporter for the Courier-News.