I first had Miz Hattie’s Southern BBQ 10 years ago during an early nice weekend in spring after a harsh winter when one of the worst blizzards hit (30” of snow and three days of no power). A neighbor had organized a block party, and we met all kinds of people while eating spoonfuls of mac and cheese and scooping remnants of pulled pork sandwiches, coupled with fried chicken.

Little did we know that Miz Hattie, who lives in Beacon, was famous for her Southern BBQ, but that BBQ was only available at catered events, parties and festivals. The next time we got to eat her food was at the Spirit of Beacon Day parade, where she had a long table of deliciousness.

And now, for the first time ever, anyone can get Miz Hattie’s Southern BBQ any time they want - in the Hudson Valley Food Hall on Beacon’s Main Street, just past the public library, near the Subway. Featured in this article is the mac and cheese bowl with pulled pork, the sauce for which has a slight hotness to it, but even people who don’t like spicy things will be just fine with this. Paired with the generously cheddary mac and cheese, this is one of the best food bowl combos in Beacon.

Yes. Inside that unobtrusive door of the Hudson Valley Food Hall is a whole lot of food creativity (but have you seen the back of the building?) - including Miz Hattie’s Southern Sweet Tea. The Hudson Valley Food Hall is the perfect destination for finding a variety of street food to eat there at their tables, or on the go. Find soups, salads, BBQ, and even seafood (hello, fresh Shrimp Cocktail!). When you’re walking to the Beacon Farmers Market on Sunday, add this to your list of warm lunch/snack options.

About That Sweet Tea…

Thankfully, Miz Hattie adds her Southern Sweet Tea to the mix on Main Street - with crunchy ice. One must get the sweet tea to wash down the Southern goodness, even if one gets a pecan pie.

How do you know if you’ll like sweet tea? If you are a Snapple drinker, you already drink sweet tea, but that is imitation, and you may as well abandon that, and just go to Miz Hattie’s to get real sweet iced tea.

What Made Miz Hattie Expand To A Main Street Storefront From Her Catering Truck?

This is Miz Hattie’s first spot in a storefront ever. How did it come to be? “The opportunity came to me,” she recalled, while packing mac and cheese for a catering order. “I am in a book club, and everyone was talking about the food hall coming. Friends were telling me to open up there. Once a week, I sit with an elderly woman for lunch. One afternoon, we went to Brothers Trattoria, and as we entered, I saw a pair of keys on the floor. I picked them up, and showed them to the next person in front of me - the building inspector for Beacon. They were his keys, and he and I go way back. I asked him if he knew about this food hall. He did, and put me in touch with the owner right away.”

Miz Hattie’s Southern Secrets

Where does Miz Hattie’s Southern cooking come from? “I grew up in North Carolina on a small farm. I was one out of nine kids. I loved being in the kitchen with my mom cooking. When my father would roast a pig for all the farm workers, I would love hanging out with him and learning, I sat up all night watching. Cooking is just something I love doing.”

Miz Hattie moved to Beacon in the 1980s to attend CIA for pastries. “Baking is also my passion. But when I moved here, I always knew I would start doing BBQ at some point.”

What is the secret to her pecan pie and corn bread? “My sister sends me pecans from Texas. My aunt told me how to make the sugar sauce. The corn bread I just tested until I got it the way It is - lots of work!”

The decor is unique to the Hudson Valley Food Hall. All of the food venues are, actually. Miz Hattie’s is wooden, rustic, and Southern. “My setup is all the things I had collected over the years,” Miz Hattie told A Little Beacon Blog.

The Hudson Valley Food Hall is open seven days, and so is Miz Hattie’s, open Monday to Thursday, 11 am to 8 pm for now (or until the bar closes), and Friday to Sunday, 11 am to 9 pm.

The Hudson Valley Food Hall is located at 288 Main St., Beacon.