Foodflash: Manago Hotel Wins James Beard America’s Classics Award

 
The state’s oldest continuously operating restaurant just brought home one of the country’s top culinary recognitions: James Beard Foundation today named Manago Hotel on Hawai‘i Island as one of six winners of the 2023 America’s Classics Award.

 
The restaurant and modest hotel is most famous for its pork chops, fried in a cast-iron pan that’s rumored to be as old as the restaurant itself. Manago Hotel began in 1917 when Kinzo Manago and Osame Nagata began selling udon, bread, jam and coffee out of their home and then added cots for those traveling between Hilo and Kona—it’s now run by the fourth generation, sisters Britney and Taryn Manago. The rooms still are sans air conditioning or TV, and pork chops are still the best-seller.
 

SEE ALSO: Hawai‘i’s Oldest Restaurants Are Still ‘Ono After All These Years

 
To be eligible for the James Beard Foundation America’s Classic Award, restaurants must have been in existence for at least 10 years and “play … a crucial role in our communities,” according to the Foundation’s press release. Winners are “locally owned restaurants that have timeless appeal and are beloved regionally for quality food that reflects the character of its community.”
 

Photo: Martha Cheng

 
Manago Hotel becomes the fourth Hawai‘i eatery to win the award, following Helena’s Hawaiian Foods of Honolulu in 2000, Sam Choy’s Kaloko on Hawai‘i Island in 2004, and Hamura Saimin on Kaua‘i in 2006.
 
Other America’s Classics Award winners around the country this year are Joe’s Bakery & Coffee Shop in Texas; La Casita Blanca in Puerto Rico; Nezinscot Farm in Maine; Pekin Noodle Parlor in Montana; and Wagner’s Village Inn in Indiana.
 

SEE ALSO: Manago Hotel’s Famous Pork Chops Get One Secret Condiment

82-6155 Mamalahoa Hwy, Captain Cook, (808) 323-2642, managohotel.com, @managohotel