Spice of Life

Suruchi in New Paltz

by Eric Steinman and photographs by Amber S. Clark, March 29, 2007

Four years ago, husband-and-wife team Peter and Shelly Fagiola resurrected the site of a former coffeeshop off of Main Street in downtown New Paltz with the intention of creating a space where anyone could walk in and enjoy live Indian music while dining on a variety of homemade food from the subcontinent. Peter, a devoted musician with a master’s degree in world music from CalArts, envisioned a sanctuary for visiting and local musicians to perform and collaborate. But, soon after beginning to revitalize the site, Peter and Shelly saw the project take a natural progression—to a fully realized restaurant, with music playing merely a supporting role to the entity that was to become Suruchi.
The couple had spent years studying music and sharing spiritual practices with their guru, Guruji Taranath Rao, and soaking up the food and culture of India. This, along with several trips to the South Asian country, fueled their desire to venture headlong into hand-creating their ideal restaurant and shrine to Indian cuisine. While Shelly is a nutritionist and previously ran a health food store in Pine Bush, neither of them had any restaurant experience. But the yearning to create a unique atmosphere to encounter healthful home-cooked Indian fare pushed them through two years of electrical work, plumbing, and general toil.

The result is a genial destination with all the flowing warmth and intimacy of a yoga studio and a menu unequaled by other local Indian restaurants. There are a dozen tables running the length of the gold-and-saffron-hued room with red oak floors and keyhole nooks in the walls, decorated with a variety of iconic Hindu deities. The best seats in the house are the couchlike divans that afford one the luxury of sitting in a traditional Indian style, cross-legged and shoeless—an ideal way to slow down and enjoy a meal.