Beacon: The Most Culture-Savvy Stop on the Metro North

Where can you find a Food Network-recognized chef and troves of artwork by world-renowned artists Andy Warhol and Lawrence Weiner in a single 4.9 square-mile radius?

Hint: the answer isn’t New York City.

It’s Beacon, a waterfront town located between Westchester County and the city of Poughkeepsie. Unbeknownst to most who don't live nearby, the area is actually a booming metropolis of eye-popping culture removed from the big city: home to the well-known art museum Dia: Beacon and local burger joint, Poppy’s Burgers and Fries,’ whose chef Paul Yeaple has since appeared as a contestant on The Food Network series, Chopped.

Nestled next to the Metro North train station, Dia: Beacon is a must-see for anyone visiting Dutchess County. The site of former Nabisco box-printing factory, the foundation hub has since swapped Oreo cookie boxes with installations by a generation's worth of art world influences like On Kawara and Joseph Beuys.

The frequent brick walls, piles of steel and mile-high ceilings not only give a photographic history lesson of what Dutchess County must have looked like in 1929; it gives one the illusion that they are actually trespassing through an abandoned warehouse rather than a museum.

This fact and others are what has dubbed the fortress of solitude as a day-trip of “art and calm an hour from New York” by the New York Times.

It is important to understand before heading up the Taconic that this is nothing like the Museum of Modern Art, though.

White walls are for the most part not lined with framed paintings or photographs, for example—they are instead filled with conceptual expression using unconventional mediums, unfamiliar to those with a limited understanding of contemporary art.

That being said, be sure to check out the finely-tuned Drawing Series by Sol DeWitt and Daddy in the Dark, a construction of organized scrap metal by John Chamberlain. 

After spending a few hours walking around an expansive gallery like Dia, you'll then be sure to work up a hearty appetite. Luckily for your hungry belly, there are a myriad of unassuming places nearby to grab a bite to eat before heading back to lower Westchester.

Poppy’s Burgers and Fries is one of many eateries that prefers comfort foods to pretentious platters, so stop in for a 100-percent grass-fed organic cheeseburger and side of sweet potato fries. Armed with cookout favorites like the "The Egghead," a 1/4 lb. patty with cheese, onion, and organic fried egg, along with well-simmered veggie burgers, there is truly something for all palettes here.

The cooking talents of chef Paul Yeaple were even given a Food Network stamp of approval recently on its series, Chopped— so you know the grub has to be good.

Still haven't had enough? Stop into neighboring establishment Cup and Saucer Tea Room for a shared pot of green tea with friends.