Lohud's hippest town: Top Two coming Tuesday

You told us your favorite hangouts. We narrowed them down to our Elite Eight based on the popular vote. We paired them up head-to-head with like towns. Now, voting has ended on the Final Four.

We'll announce the Top Two on Tuesday morning. So check in at lohud.com then, and you'll be able to vote for the one you think is our Hippest Town.

Our Final Four saw quaint Nyack battling bustling Yonkers, while artsy Peekskill was pitted against rising rivertown Dobbs Ferry.

Here's a look at the Final Four. Tune in Tuesday for the Top Two.

West vs. East

NYACK:

Eat: 8 North Broadway, Hudson House and Two Spear Street are perfect picks for a special night out; the one true waterfront restaurant, The River Club, is surprisingly casual. Art Café and True Food provide healthy options. Nyack Gourmet runs a modest storefront and a booming catering business. Turiello's and Tarantello pizza parlors satisfy families all day and recovering barflies all night. Satisfy your sweet tooth in style at Gypsy Donut, Patisserie Didier Dumas or gluten-free Flour Buds. Or fight through the bicycles and spandex-clad sportsmen at Runcible Spoon (their "morning bun" is totally worth it).

Drink: Bars like Bourbon Street, Pour House and Olde Village Inne pack in the twentysomethings along Main Street, and Hudson House and 8 North Broadway provide high-end mixology at their restaurant bars. Avida Wine Bar and Alain's Wine and Tapas (chef Alain Eigenmann's acclaimed French restaurant is a mile west) are small jewel boxes of relaxed oenophilic sophistication. Coffee shop Gypsy Donut now serves beer and spirits (alongside their renowed Stumptown Coffee brews) after 3 p.m.

Shop: Longtime mainstay Maria Luisa opened neighboring ML Accessories in 2007, offering a similar collection of fashions, jewelry, home goods and children's items. Saffron Trading Company also sells home decor, gifts, jewelry, and has a sweet little children's room in the back. Across the street, former Christopher's Antiques manager Colin Holmes's eponymous home and garden store spills flowers and cheer out onto the sidewalk. Kiam Records is a hip Main Street newcomer. Sign of the Times once sold more hippie-happy gifts, but has evolved (and downsized) into primarily a toy store. Chocolaterie's fine European selection has also made them the go-to local place for hard-to-find Kinder Eggs.

Arts: Nyack's tagline is, "Art & Soul on the Hudson." The Nyack Art Collective runs First Fridays, a town-wide event on the first Friday evening of each month featuring art exhibits (with artists on hand to discuss their work) in numerous participating local shops and restaurants; the event often includes musical and street performances. Art galleries also abound; newcomer 85 South Arts is a collaboration between local artists Nia Berlingeri and Ray Lagstein. And of course there's Nyack's most famous native son, painter Edward Hopper, who was born here in 1882 (his family home on Broadway is now a not-for-profit art center). Nyack is also a great place to catch a band – Olive's has nightly live music, and other bars such as Karma alternate between live musicians and DJs. There are always musicians strumming their guitars on the sidewalks, and bands play at the numerous street fairs throughout the year. Annual arts events sponsored by Friends of the Nyacks include the (Mostly) Music festival and an Art Walk, and the Nyack Center regularly hosts family concerts, dance performances and more. For theater, Elmwood Playhouse and Nyack Village Theater always have something in production, and the Helen Hayes Youth Theater program rehearses in Nyack (Hayes's former hometown).

Outdoors: Weekends attract swarms of cyclists (it's a popular stop on the Route 9W ride between the George Washington Bridge and Bear Mountain), foodies, and kayakers. Walk the four-mile trail along Nyack Beach, with Hook Mountain on one side of you and the Hudson River immediately on the other; you can also opt for a more challenging hike trail along the mountain, and the end of the beach path meets up with the Rockland Lake path in Congers. Memorial Park is another great way to get close to the river, and with its revitalized playground and sports facilities, large gazebo and this summer's new pier and construction viewing platform, it's becoming a great peaceful draw away from the main drag.

YONKERS:

Eat: X20 Xaviars on the Hudson is the only Westchester establishment owned by Yonkers native and chef Peter X. Kelly (he has three others in Rockland). Dolphin offers waterfront seafood in Getty Square. The owners of Zuppa, a sophisticated waterfront Italian restaurant, have recently opened Guapo Cocina, an upscale Mexican offering, right around the corner. And of course there are numerous dining offerings at upscale outdoor shopping development Ridge Hill.

Drink: Yonkers Brewing Co. serves up nearly two dozen brews in (along with a truly excellent small plates menu) in the cavernous former Yonkers Trolley Barn. SOYO (which stands for South Yonkers) is a former dive recently reinvented as a craft cocktail bar. Rory Dolan's reigns over pub-heavy, uber-Irish McLean Ave, where the streets ring with live traditional music at all hours.

Shop: Westchester's Ridge Hill, an outdoor upscale shopping destination that also includes a movie theater and Legoland, and the Cross County Mall are the main focal points of retail in Yonkers.

Arts: In 1997 the city commissioned muralist Richard Haas to do a series of waterfront murals on the history of Yonkers; there's currently an active effort to have these great works landmarked. The old Yonkers Jail is being turned into an arts space by architect and artist Maya Lin, who also designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Despite serving as a breeding ground for many musicians and actors (including many in the rap and R&B genres), there doesn't seem to be much of a performance scene in Yonkers beyond live music at bars.

Outdoors: Getty Square is a hub of activity along the river. A newly daylighted portion of the Saw Mill River, which runs beneath the city, is the centerpiece of the relatively new Van Der Donck Park in downtown Larkin Plaza. Tibbets Brook Park in Yonkers houses the city's recreational facilities, including a pool, water park and even campground. Untermyer Park & Gardens is a stunning 43-acre botanical oasis with breathtaking river views. The Science Barge is a floating educational greenhouse that is entirely self-powered by renewable energy sources. Ridge Hill shopping center is open-air and excellent for wandering. And of course Van Cortlandt Park, while technically in the Bronx, lies along Yonkers' border.

North vs. South

PEEKSKILL:

Eat: Farm-to-table food and excellent beer are the secrets to success for Birdsall House, Gleason's and The Hudson Room. Higher-end Division Street Grill offers special vegan and gluten free menus. Zephs Restaurant is for your fancy night out. Ruben's Mexican Café, NY Firehouse Grille and RameNesque are great for more casual eats.

Drink: Peekskill's not that much of a "bar scene." Gleason's pizza joint (from the owners of Birdsall House) has a great bar, with acclaimed beer and cocktail lists. Peekskill Brewery serves about a dozen house brews and casual food in its hiply industrial waterfront space. The restaurant and wine bar 12 Grapes also provides live music. Peekskill is primarily a coffee town; the Peekskill Coffee House and Bean Runner Café (another live music venue) are hot spots.

Shop: The Jefferson Valley Mall is nearby, and the selection of mom-and-pop stores downtown is thus limited – though it has a strong vintage scene. You could spend hours perusing the pre-owned treasures at Bruised Apple Books and Music, or even just staring in the windows at The Coop antique store.

Arts: The 12,000-square-foot Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art was founded by local art collectors in 2004 and has become a premier destination for modern art. The Riverfront Green Park houses sculptures by local artists. Peekskill Arts Alliance supports artists and galleries, and hosts studio tours and other arts events. The outdoor Peekskill Jazz & Blues Festival draws thousands each year. The art-deco style Paramount Hudson Valley Theater has hosted an active slate of plays and concerts since 1930 and still attracts top talent. Many restaurants and cafes in town feature live music regularly. And then, of course, there's the art all over the streets: a combination of commissioned murals, miscellaneous street art, tiled benches that mark the walk between HVCCA and the town center and of course the still-anonymous yarn bombers who've decorated the gazebo in town and stanchions by the river.

Outdoors: Riverfront Green Park provides walking trails and a gorgeous river view. Depew Park hosts the city's recreational facilities and pool. Part of the Blue Mountain Reservation falls within Peekskill.

DOBBS FERRY:

Eat: Wunderkind chef David DiBari's restaurants The Cookery (down on Chestnut Street, closer to the river) and high-end pizza place The Parlor (up on Cedar Street) have both become town icons. Cedar Street Grill offers unpretentious comfort food. Build your own hot dog at Dawg House with toppings like wasabi cream, tzatziki sauce and Cap'n Crunch cereal (though hopefully not all together). Half Moon has the town's only riverfront space with a gently lapping beach and a prime view of Manhattan.

Drink: Happy hour on the river at Half Moon is always a popular way to wind down the day. Grab a drink and a nosh at Hudson Social, inside the old train station. Harper's takes as much pride in their high-end craft cocktail menu as they do their farm-to-table food.

Shop: The mom and pop shops along Cedar and Main are numerous and varied, though unextraordinary. Audren's has great gifts; Popshop style is fashion-forward. Cedar Gifts displays a n impressive array of hookahs in its window, and any visit inside the Hocus Pocus magic shop will likely end with your proffered dollar bill ablaze. The high-end Rivertown Square shopping development is under construction and expected to bring crowds to Dobbs Ferry.

Arts: The former Anchor Brewing Company building at 145 Palisade Street dates to 1889 and has become a haven for arts-related businesses – including artist's studios, the Art Academy of Westchester, a music school, photographers, a bookstore and STEAM education center Curious-on-Hudson. The Muzic Complex on Cedar Street features Riverworks Records recording studio, Stolen Moments entertainment agency, The Muzic Store, which sells instruments and provides lessons, and a performance space.

Outdoors: The Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, which runs from the Bronx all the way up to Cortlandt, bisects the center of town. Town recreational facilities including a pool, ball park, and playground are housed at Gould Park. The waterfront park is under major construction but should be ready next summer.