Big Island: The Manago Hotel

After visits to places like Teshima's, Suisan, and Kawamoto's, you can see there's a kind of a running theme in our visit to the Big Island. With that in mind, I just had to stop at the Manago Hotel.

The hotel was built in 1917 and is still owned by the same family. There's a real "old-time" vibe to this place.

Walking down the hallways is like journey back in time.... You wonder what stories would be told if these walls could talk.

I hadn't stopped in here since the early 90's, but it looks the same to me. Especially the somewhat ramshackle, but charming "lunch room"......yes, they call it a restaurant, but it really reminds me of a plantation lunch room....mismatched furniture and all.

There's no menu handed to you when you are seated.....you read what's being served on the peg board and order. After placing your order, the server returns with your "side dishes", which you eat family style....you serve yourself.

Today, along with the big bowl of rice, there was long rice, macaroni-potato salad, which was well chilled, and blanched and marinated bean sprouts which was sort of like namul. The Missus pretty much whacked the bean sprouts and our server brought us another plate!

The one item I always have to get here are the pork chops. The big dilemma is; whether so get it pan-fried, or smothered in gravy. Seeing that there are kids now in college who weren't even born the last time I had the pork chops here, I went for the straight-up pan fried version.

I've been told that the cooks here use cast iron pans which are....well, older than I am. That's a well-seasoned pan. The bone in chops were a bit thinner than I remembered, but the wonderful crust and simple seasoning, salt, pepper, and maybe granulated garlic was just what I wanted. The chop isn't super-tender, but it has a pleasant chew, and was really moist. Sometimes I wonder if my food memories are a snapshot which has snowballed over time, creating its own reality. I'm glad to say, in terms of flavor, this was as I remembered.

The Missus had the pan fried ahi.

Which She said was simple, but well and honestly prepared.

There's something about a good meal which puts you in a nice frame of mind. There's also that great feeling you get when an old favorite still delivers....it makes everything seem right in the world for that moment. What the Manago hotel serves is good, simple, homey, honest, food, a snapshot of a different time. In this day and age of food fads, gimmicks, slow food - fast-food, farm to table, etc, etc, etc..... There's something almost refreshing about that.

 Manago Hotel
82-6155 Mamalahoa Hwy
Captain Cook, HI 96704

Comments

[santos.]

i still remember the taste of that pork chop. even though i was more than happy with it, i regret not getting the gravy!

[kat]

never been but those food memories look delicious!

[kobi]

Love the pork chop there. Curious to see what that cast iron skillet looks like after all this time. Since I don't go to the Big Island much I have to settle for the expensive chops at Side Street.

[Kirk]

Hi Santos - That just means you'll have to go back!

Hi Kat - I hope you get to check them out one of these days.

Hi Kobi - Man, I haven't been to side street in years.....

[Alan]

Your recent trip "home" and your Manago Hotel and Teshima postings made me jealous. I too returned home to Honolulu for 4 days two weeks ago. My sons and I spent all three meals eating all the stuff we were craving -- portuguese sausage and fried rice for breakfast, poke, sashimi, misoyaki gindai, harm har ong choi (cannot get the prohibited veggie here), kalbi, gau gee, roast pork, opihi, Liliha #1 L&L plate lunches, cake noodles, Peking duck, kau yuk, etc. etc. -- you get the picture. But we never got to eat the old style foods like you had at Teshima's and Manago Hotel. In fact, I searched and called around for fried akule, but could never find anyplace that had it -- in fact, in all the seafood places I went to at the supermarkets, Chinatown, Tamashiro's, etc. etc. I only found one stall with akule, but that was on the last day and I did not have time to ask a friend or relative to fry it for me.

[Soo]

I wish they had awesome pork chops like that in San Diego!

[Kirk]

Man Alan......I can't remember the last time I had fried akule! You sure did hit a lot of places in four days.

I do too Soo!

[Alan]

Yup; had to take care of family business. Pay our respects to the departed relatives, especially our parents and in-laws, and I hosted a 7 course meal for the family in Honolulu at Royal Garden. Spent the rest of the time thinking of where we were going to eat next. Also went to a couple family and friends homes for the typical Hawaiian-style gotso dinners on the patio. Yup; loved it and gained 8 pounds.

[Kirk]

Sheesh 8 pounds Alan! That's like 2 pounds a day!