This is an excerpt from a book by Jessica Ferracane, "50 Thrifty Big Island Restaurants". Foodies trolling for blue collar grubs should dig in. And a hat tip to the folks at Watermark Publishing who agreed to the excerpts.

Manago Hotel Restaurant: Manago’s first claim to fame is that it’s an integral part of Big Island history. Owner Dwight Manago’s grandparents opened the hotel 87 years ago, and it served as temporary home base for the migrant workers plying the fertile agricultural region of South Kona. Manago’s second claim to fame is the restaurant’s pork chops. I had friends threaten to boycott this book unless I wrote about Manago’s pork chops. This was a dilemma for me—my favorite movie is Babe, and I’m not hog-wild about the other white meat. But Manago’s regulars are—the restaurant cooks up 1,500 pounds of Big Island pork every month. I drove an hour just to taste what the fuss what about, and ordered the combo: one pork chop and one fresh ono filet ($8.75), thinking I’d take a gratuitous bite out of the chop and focus on the fish. Fish, schmish. One bite of that crispy, thin, “just like Mom used to make” pan-fried chop, and I was in hog heaven. There I was, gnawing the meat off the bone like some depraved carnivore. All entrees come with three side dishes plus a jumbo bowl of sticky white rice. Good thing my friend Suzy was with me. We got lima beans, canned corn with peas and bacon, and a terrific potato-macaroni salad, served family-style. I’ll definitely be back to pig out on Manago’s pork chops again, because this little piggy went whee whee whee! all the way home.

808-323-2642 / 82-6155 Mamalahoa Hwy., Captain Cook / Map/Reviews
HOURS Tu-Su, breakfast: 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.; lunch: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner: 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
ALCOHOL Beer, wine, full bar
PLASTIC Everything but A
NOTES Room rates at this historic landmark hotel are ultra thrifty, ranging from $49 to $54 per night.

—Alex, 11/02/06