beacon

Two Way Brewing Company {Beacon}

Posted on by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Beacon has always been one of my favorite Hudson Valley towns. This small city is filled with lots of restaurants, shops and hiking trails. It also boasts three breweries and a distillery. On a recent visit, my husband and I explored a new-to-us brewery: Two Way Brewing Company. Located at 18 West Main Street, it’s within walking distance of the Beacon train station. We realized that we need to venture off of Main Street more often so we don’t miss hidden gems like this.

THE BREWERY

Two Way Brewing Company was founded in 2014 by Michael O’Herron. According to the brewery’s website, O’Herron named it “after the “two way” Hudson River. The river is technically an estuary, which is a mixture of fresh water and salty seawater. There are about two high tides and two low tides throughout the day.” Their logo is a graphic depiction of this phenomenon.

The brewery has both indoor and outdoor seating. Indoor seating includes stools at the bar and high tables as well as some sofas and a couple of regular tables. The outdoor seating area has several tables and chairs with umbrellas. These tables get filled up quickly on nice days! There is a game room in the back that has a pool table, darts and foosball with plenty of additional seating. There is also a bookcase filled with all kinds of board games that will keep you occupied for hours.

All of the beers served at Two Way Brewing are brewed onsite next to the tap room. They serve a rotating menu of craft beverages, one of which is a cider. They are all made on-site. My husband ordered a beer flight, which includes four, 4.7 oz. Tasters for $11, to be able to sample a variety. He sampled the Climb High P.A.(IPA), Confusion (Saison), Highlands Haze (IPA) and Tooth of The Lion (German Hefeweisen). Although they don’t label each glass in the flight, you can identify them based on their location on the horizontal menu board (left to right).

For those ordering Crowlers (32 oz. cans for $9) to go, the brewery has a very cool canning system, which they use only as needed, for the freshest possible beer. The cans are labeled, filled and sealed in their special machine, all within minutes.

THE FOOD

Since I’m not a big beer drinker, I like to visit breweries for the food. Popcorn is provided to patrons free of charge. It’s freshly popped and perfectly salted. The food for Two Way Brewing Company is provided by The Flying Jib and made onsite. Ordering can easily be done via a QR code. They have a small but interesting menu with a couple of vegetarian options. We enjoyed Korean Fried Broccoli, Patatas Bravas and The Classic sandwich (arugula, sun-dried tomato pesto and fresh mozzarella) that was served with waffle fries. Everything was delicious.

THE ENTERTAINMENT

Two Way Brewing Company has live music on most Friday and Saturday evenings. They also have trivia on Thursday evenings from 7 PM – 9 PM. Check their website to get all the details on their upcoming events.

Enjoy a hot summer day with a pint or a flight from Two Way Brewing Company!

The Details:

Two Way Brewing Company
18 West Main Street
Beacon, NY 12508
website

Brewery Hours: Open Monday – Wednesday 4 PM – 9 PM
Thursday 4 PM – 10 PM
Friday and Saturday 12 PM – 11 PM
Sunday 12 PM – 9 PM

Kitchen Hours: Closed Monday – Wednesday
Thursday and Friday 4 PM – 10 PM
Saturday 12 PM -10 PM
Sunday 1 PM – 8 PM

Parking: There is free parking in the parking lot adjacent to the brewery or on the street

Price: A flight of four, 4.7 oz. Tasters costs $11
Pints are priced between $6-$8

*The brewery is within walking distance from the Beacon Train Station

MoMo Valley Opens in Beacon

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I first discovered MoMo Valley at their food kiosk in the Hudson Valley Food Hall in Beacon a few years ago. However, the family-owned restaurant first started in 2018 as a NYC pop-up where they sold their homemade momo dumplings. MoMo Valley was one of the original food stands in the Hudson Valley Food Hall when it opened in early 2019. Fast forward two and a half years and they have launched their own restaurant space.

Situated on the opposite end of Main Street from the Hudson Valley Food Hall, the MoMo Valley restaurant has now been open for 3 months.

The Atmosphere

The restaurant has a clean and minimalistic vibe. The space is bright with white painted textured walls and a tin ceiling and the front windows are filled with lots of green plants. As we dined, we listened to sounds of world music playing from the speakers.

The Food

MoMo Valley’s specialty is their spiced momo. For those not familiar, momo are dumplings from the countries of Nepal and Tibet. However, the restaurant also serve other Himalayan dishes. One of their popular main dishes is Dal-Bhat- Everest Platter. According to the menu, this is Nepal’s national dish and a meal that sherpas often enjoy en route to Mt. Everest. It’s a small sampling of several dishes including curried chicken, sauteed greens, lentil soup, the vegetable of the day, rice and a side of relish.

My husband and I visited MoMo Valley mid-afternoon on a Sunday. We weren’t super hungry since we had a late breakfast before we headed up to Beacon. We opted to share an order of Spinach and Cheese Momo and the Vegan Platter. It is similar to the Everest Platter, described above, minus the curried chicken.

Everything we had was so delicious! The momo are large and served with a tomato-based dipping sauce. The okra in the vegan platter was our surprise favorite. The carrot relish was a nice tangy complement to the spice of the other dishes. When our food was served, they also brought us extra plates, since they knew we were sharing the platter.

It is important to note that the restaurant is vegan friendly. An entire side of the menu is filled with vegan options including several main dishes. They also make vegan momo, which they were out of the day of our visit.

There are not many restaurants in the Hudson Valley serving Himalayan cuisine, so a trip to Beacon to dine here is worth the trip!

The Details:
MoMo Valley
455 Main Street
Beacon, NY 12508
(845) 536-4934
website

Open: Thursday – Monday 12 PM – 9 PM
Tuesday – Closed
Wednesday – Closed

Parking: Street parking

A Visit to Beans Cat Cafe {Beacon}

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A café where you can drink your coffee and interact with a room full of felines. Does a place like this even exist?! Yes, it does and it’s not far from home. Beans Cat Cafe opened November 14, 2020. It is owned and operated by Jessica and Justin Strika who have partnered with Hudson Valley Animal Rescue & Sanctuary. Their goal is to have 300 cats adopted their first year. As of this past Friday, they have currently found homes for 169 felines! If you are looking to adopt a cat or kitten, please think about visiting Beans Cat Cafe!

Where is Beans Cat Cafe?

Beans Cat Café is located on 325 Main Street in Beacon. As if I didn’t love Beacon already, it’s given me another reason to visit again and again! Beans Cat Café is a coffee shop and cat lounge, They serve both hot and iced coffee and tea beverages and sell baked goods from Frida’s Bakery in Milton and Newburgh Flour Shop.

I enjoyed an iced chai latte and my son had a strawberry green tea. Even the drink cups are cute! The coffee shop is a very small, narrow space, with one table that seats two. You are able to bring your drinks into the cat lounge with you.

What is a Cat Lounge?

The Beans Cat Café lounge is a large room filled with all kinds of cat trees, beds and toys. The day of our visit there were 9 cats in the lounge. This is their room, where they are free to roam, play and sleep. As a guest, you can pet, play and take photos of the adorable cats and kittens. However, you are not allowed to pick up the cats.

The Experience

At your appointed time you are brought into the cat lounge. All guests must first wash their hands and read the rules. You are introduced to all of the cats in the lounge, and there’s also a board that lists the name, age and identifying info for each cat. Then you are free to interact!

The Cats

The cats and kittens are all adoptable, so you won’t see the same ones if you visit at different times. We had a 12:30 PM reservation and during our visit, many of the cats were sleeping.

I thought the cutest was 3 month old Daisy and her sister Rosey, who slept in the window our entire visit!

My son loved Itty Bitty, this shaved tabby.

Vlad reminded us of our own black cat at home.

I mean, this cuteness!

If you are an animal lover, a visit to Beans Cat Cafe is a must! Especially, if you are interested in adopting a cat or kitten! You will fall in love with the cats and the town of Beacon!

The Details:

Beans Cat Café
325 Main Street
Beacon, NY 12508
(845) 440-8243
website

Hours: Wednesday – Friday, 9 AM – 6 PM
Closed Monday and Tuesday

Parking: Street parking

Cost: $7/person for 30 minutes or $12.50/person for 60 minutes.
The room can be rented for $40 for 30 minutes or $70 for 60 minutes for a group of up to 8 people.

*Walk-ins are welcome, but if you have a specific time that you’d like to visit, I highly recommend reserving online in advance.

Madam Brett Park {Beacon, NY}

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Hidden in the outskirts of the city of Beacon, you will find Madam Brett Park. This 12 acre park is one of the 45 parks created by Scenic Hudson. The park may be small, but it is here that you will find the impressive Tioronda Falls.

We visited this park mid-day on a recent Saturday afternoon. There is a small parking lot that can hold about 16 cars. There is also room along the gravel entrance road to park, although I’m not sure this is sanctioned parking.

There are two hiking trails that can be accessed at Madam Brett Park. The white trail runs 0.6 miles and the red trail is a 700 feet loop that is connected to the white trail. Our main reason for this visit was to see Tioronda Falls rather than getting in a hike. I love waterfalls and am on a quest to see as many as I can in New York! From the parking lot, it is a short walk to reach the falls.

There are a couple of different viewing spots of the falls, depending on how close you want to get. The closer you get though, the more adventurous you have to be. First there’s a short iron catwalk that must be traversed. Luckily, there’s a railing to hold on to.

Then, you will have to walk across the ledge of the Tioronda Dam. There happened to be a fallen tree lying across it, possibly from the recent Hurricane that passed through.

The end of the trail and the highest viewing spot of the falls is this observation deck. However, there were already people sitting up there and they didn’t look like they were leaving any time soon. Since we were practicing social distancing, we didn’t join them.

We ventured down off the trail to get to this closer view of the falls. We didn’t stay long, as there were other groups waiting to come down. However, it was so picturesque.

There was a lot of foliage overgrowth. But don’t be deceived. Although these flowers are pretty and were attracting lots of butterflies, they are actually an invasive species.

After you view the falls, walk past the parking lot to access the boardwalk that runs adjacent to Fishkill Creek. This will lead you to the rest of the white trail.

You will walk past the remnants of the Tioronda Hat Works. In January of 2017, a massive fire broke out here. Fortunately, fire fighters were able to prevent the fire from reaching the boardwalk. We turned around shortly after crossing the boardwalk. However, the white trail continues to the marsh.

The Details:
Madam Brett Park – A Scenic Hudson Park
560 South Avenue
Beacon, NY 12508

Parking: Free
Open: Dusk to dawn, year-round
Length: White trail – 0.6 miles
Red trail – 700 feet loop
You can access the Dennings Point Trail via the white trail

*There are no bathroom facilities here
*Dogs are allowed on a leash
*Fishing, X-country skiing and snowshoeing are permitted
* Be careful making the turn into the park. You must drive through a narrow, one-lane underpass. Both entering and leaving, we had close calls with other cars.