One of the delights of wandering the countryside is finding restaurants like the Purple Cat. Of course, I should have known about it before stumbling across it -- it's been in Chepachet in one form or another since 1929 and been written about repeatedly in newspapers, magazines, and travel guides, but I have to admit my ignorance. After a day of wandering Glocester's country roads, taking pictures of frozen lakes and kids sliding down a snowy hillsides, I asked a friendly local my favorite question -- "Where's a great place to eat around here?"

"The Purple Cat!"

"Sounds like the name of a bar."

"No. Well, sort of. Once. But it's a restaurant. Though it used to be a trolley car."

"I'm confused. Is it a diner?"

"It's a real restaurant. If you want good food, you really need to check them out."

Trusting in local experts, I followed directions: look for the sign with a big purple cougar-like cat, just north of the 44/102 split. You have to more or less know that it's there to find it on the first try.

It was a restaurant. A real restaurant, hand-carved signs and historical photographs on the walls. Of course the walls weren't the reason for being there -- I was hungry! And a good thing, too, since I couldn't resist their Friday/Saturday special -- a huge slab of black angus prime rib. Of course, I could have chosen almost anything -- seafood and Italian dishes, broiled steaks and chops, traditional family foods like grilled liver and onions, but the idea of a huge 28 ounce king-cut of prime rib took control of me and wouldn't let me go.

When the food arrived, I was not disappointed. Tender, juicy, and tasty all the way through.

And my wife was happy. Not that I had a great meal, but that her meal was great, too. She had a plump broiled scrod, topped with a seafood dressing and a light butter and wine sauce. Their most popular dish is the baked stuffed jumbo shrimp. Maybe next time. If I don't come on a Friday or Saturday, of course.

Excellent service -- attentive and friendly. Fresh bread and iced tea. Wine if I felt like it. Handicapped accessible. Moderate prices. Good separation of the smoking and non-smoking areas. They pretty much had everything I hope to find in a restaurant.

First trolley car in Chepachet, 1914

But I couldn't find the trolley car. Actually, two trolley cars according to the rave reviews and histories hanging in the den-like waiting area near the bar. The LaVoie family's restaurant started its life as two trolley cars salvaged from the old Chepacet trolley line, one serving as a diner's seating area and the other as the kitchen. Over the years, they expanded, leaving behind the idea of being a diner and becoming a center of the local nightlife, with dancing and food. Eventually they evolved to the excellent restaurant they are today. All the way through, they maintained the name "The Purple Cat" (Named, by the way, after an establishment in Providence that was not known for its food as much as for its entertainment.)

But this Purple Cat is a restaurant worth going out of your way for. It gets my highest recommendation for anyone wanting great food, service, and atmosphere at reasonable prices.

They're at Stafford Yard in Chepachet MAP and their phone number is 401/568-7161. Website is www.thepurplecat.com

(Oh, yeah... the trolley cars still exist, hiding behind the doors to the kitchen.) [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive]