Manago Hotel (Big Island)

When Kinzo and Osame Manago first served udon and sake to migrant workers in 1917, a tatami mat rolled out on the floor of their house cost a buck a night. It wasn't much, but people came to sup and sleep in the Manago home.

By 1928 Kinzo and Osame had saved enough to expand into a proper hotel—complete with dining room—to serve travelers along the narrow Kona coast highway. Much later they added a three-story building to accomodate the growing demand as more people were drawn by the Manago's affordable lodging and cooking.

Today, the Manago Hotel is still in the family, operated by a third generation of the family, Dwight and Cheryl Manago. Their unpretentious restaurant serves a mixed crowd of locals and adventurous travelers, both attracted by good food without extra frills. The dining room has high ceilings crowned with spinning fans. Cheap formica tables and stackable chairs sit on a worn hardwood floor. Upon entering, you can wash your hands at the simple porcelain basin by the doorway, just as people have been for decades.

I arrived early enough to find an easy seat along one wall. "Do you know what you want?" the waitress asked. It was pretty obvious I wasn't from around here, and her expression was kind but not hopeful for a prompt answer.

"I've heard the pork chops are good."

Big smile from the waitress in reply, "Yes, they are." My homework had paid off. I was, in a small way, connected to all of the other diners who come seeking Manago's signature pork chops.

Steamed rice, tsukemono, potato salad and stewed cabbage arrived almost as soon as my order reached the kitchen. Rice is rice, but the other sides were each phenomenal in their own ways. The tsukemono consisted of ogo mixed with bits of pickled maui onion and cherry tomatoes; crisp and refreshing. In a departure from many Hawaiian-style potato salads, the version here contains generous portions of julienned egg, giving it a hearty, satisfying flavor. The savory cabbage was stewed with chunks of pork, similar to but not quite like kalua pig and cabbage. I could have been happy enough eating an entire meal of just these sides, but then out came the pork chops.

It doesn't get any simpler than two pan-fried pork chops on a plate. They were simply seasoned, yet bursting with flavor. What's the secret? I have no idea, but when I cook pork chops they are never as succulent of flavorful as these. They are the best pork chops I've ever tasted (sorry, mom, even compared to yours).

No one seems to be in a hurry here, and the feeling is contagious. I ate at a leisurely pace, watching the dining room slowly fill and empty again as I savored every bite and drank in the history all around.

Manago Hotel
P.O. Box 145
82-6155 Mamalahoa Hwy
Captain Cook, HI 96704
(808) 323-2642
http://www.managohotel.com/

Come early—the dining room closes at 7:30pm. For added flavor, spend the night in the hotel (from $32/night, shared bath), closer in feel to a hostel than your typical Kona resort. The Four Seasons this ain't, but here the smell of homestyle cooking drifts into your room as you settle in for the night.

Other sites:
→ ʻOnokinegrindz also likes the chops
→ Hawaiirama excerpts the Manago Hotel write-up from the book 50 Thrifty Big Island Restaurants
→ The Honolulu Advertiser named Manago Hotel as one of Hawaii's Best Restaurants