Best of Folsom & El Dorado Hills: Best use of the color purple

The Purple Place Bar & Grill

You really can’t miss The Purple Place Bar & Grill. For starters, its wide-set facade is literally purple. And “El Dorado Hill’s original roadhouse,” as it’s billed, has loomed large on Green Valley Road since 1955.

But that doesn’t mean it was always a hit with the locals. “The Purple Place is historic, and everyone knows about it some way or another, but it really was a run-down biker bar when we took it over,” says co-owner Denise Hountalas, who purchased the establishment seven years ago with husband Mike.

The couple started their new venture with 12 employees and no investors, she adds. Now they have 58 people working for them, as well as a large cast of regulars gobbling up an equally expansive menu.

Everything is made fresh in-house, including the chips, mayonnaise and pasta. The loaded menu has its popular items, such as the biscuits and gravy, the appetizing prawn cocktail and the ribs that take three days to prepare before being served for dinner. “I think that’s made it a better restaurant and brought in more people,” Hountalas says of their made-to-order philosophy.

She credits a great team and her husband Mike, who began his restaurant career at the age of 7, cracking eggs for his father, who then owned San Francisco’s famed Cliff House. Mike Hountalas most recently worked as director of operations for Sacramento restaurant magnate Randy Paragary.

On a mild Thursday afternoon, it’s easy to see why the Purple Place has hit its comfort-food stride. Outside on the dark-wooded patio, the jerk-chicken sandwich packs a lemony zing. Despite its name, it’s a palate’s best friend.

The crammed main restaurant is decorated with murals depicting the county’s history, but diners are too busy mowing down bacon cheeseburgers on gluten-free buns to notice. Denise Hountalas says many of these same folks will return later, cleaned up and sans children, to tip cocktails and enjoy live weekend music. And, yes, bikers are still welcome. 363 Green Valley Road in El Dorado Hills, (916) 933-2313, www.thepurp.com.