Buzz on over to Bee Tavern in Middletown, where the cocktails are made with honey (try the Queen Bee, a whiskey-honey-schnapps mix). Expect classic bar food like spicy wings and fries, plus weekly music and poetry slams. 845.467.4138
BBQ lovers, listen up! Two new joints have hit the Poughkeepsie area. Dutchess BBQ is dishing up pulled-pork sliders and jalapeno Philly cheese steak. 845.849.1774
Just down the road, The Shack serves Memphis-style faves like brisket and short rib with a choice of eight house-made sauces. Finish up with peanut butter pie! 845.204.9900
On the hooves of its success in Latham, Tipsy Moose Tap & Tavern has opened a new outpost in Troy. Expect the same cozy-rustic atmosphere and soul-satisfying faves like buffalo mac ’n’ cheese and pulled-pork pizza, not to mention an ever-changing craft beer selection. 518.966.8448
Gyros are the dish of the day at Boombox Kitchen and Bar in New Paltz. Go vegetarian with eggplant and fire-roasted red peppers, or stick to classic lamb or beef, washed down with seasonal beers. Check out the lively game table with retro consoles, too. 845.256.0101
The Shack photo by Manny Cruz and Christopher Tompkins
Our Pick: The Beefsteak
Farquharson Hall, Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park
February 2, 6 p.m.; $150
The beefsteak banquet was a bizarre, boisterous, and slightly barbaric cultural phenomenon from early 20th-century NYC: Working-class men gathered at communal tables in banquet halls to consume perverse portions of beer and beef tenderloin — often with their hands — and entertain each other with stories and song. The CIA revives this tradition (sans misogyny and debauchery) with a brass band for ambience and a menu of oysters, shrimp, burgers, sirloin, and house-brewed beer. 845.451.1014
