A Sweet Trip to Beacon, NY

Beacon, a sort of Williamsburg-on-the-Hudson, is known for its spectacular modern art museum and countless small galleries. It's also a great place to enjoy the fall foliage. Best of all, the town offers many opportunities for serious sugar shock!

Beacon is home to Dutchess County's oldest candy store, the Alps Sweet Shop (269 Main St., 845-831-8240). Alps sells all the old favorites like champagne truffles, fruit gels, almond turtles and licorice, but it's the Halloween candy that is truly impressive! Chocolate witches, jack-o-lanterns, bats, eyeballs, spiders, skulls and ghosts will delight your trick-or-treaters. If you like your sweets less macabre, treat yourself to one of Alps' amazing "Ultimate Apples." (Don't worry, they're not that virtuous - heavy layers of chocolate and caramel have robbed them of most nutritional content.)

After you've filled your goodie bag, go across the street to Max's on Main (46 Main St., 845-838-6297). There, you'll find two of the most decadent desserts known to man: the Fi-Doh-Doh (a blondie covered with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, white chocolate and caramel glaze) and the Fi-Dah-Dah (the chocolate bundt cake variation).

The Upper Crust Cafe & Bakery is no more (it will soon be an upscale cafe), but HomeSpun Foods (232 Main St., 845-831-5096) is a wonderful stopover for pastry. Crumbly, buttery pear/raspberry jam scones, fig tarts, bread pudding and fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies are some of the delights served at HomeSpun. Also, check out the small gift section; it features beautifully-designed Ludomar chocolate bars.

Now I've got to tell you about something really special: the artisanal popsicles at Zora Dora (201 Main St., 646-206-3982). Have you ever tried a vanilla-beet tie-dye popsicle? Or a chocolate-chipotle chunk? How about Italian coffee bean, or roasted bananas with saffron and pistachio (out of this world). Zora Dora, which uses Ronnybrook Dairy and local produce in its ices and creams, has been open since June. The store is already producing ice cream for restaurants all over Beacon and nearby Cold Spring.

So now your lips are chattering. Put down that popsicle, and before you get back on the train, warm up with a cup of cocoa at Muddy Cup (129 Main St., 845-831-1003). The cafe serves just about every variety imaginable, from cinnamon-chocolate to chocolate-cherry to peppermint patty cocoa.

(Note: Be advised that when visiting Beacon on a Monday, you won't be able to enjoy a pierogi at Marlena's, a pad thai at Sukhothai, or a cup of tea at The Cup & Saucer Tea Room. However, there are plenty of other goodies!)