Carnevore Food Trip at Fat Daddy’s Smokehouse, UP Town Center

There’s something so primal about grilling food, particularly meat. Harking back to cavemen days when it was discovered that cooking food in an open flame makes it more tender and taste better, grilling has now become an advanced study in itself, with specialized tools and techniques to satisfy the most discriminating tastes among grilled food fanatics.

Fat Daddy’s Smokehouse began as a venture among siblings – right in the backyard of their house in Marikina. Having discovered the unique flavors and distinct styles of the American southwest when it comes to grilling, smoking meats in particular, they determined to bring that kind of cooking back home with them.

From its flagship store in Marikina, to this bigger store in UP Town Center in Quezon City, the Fat Daddy’s has certainly come a long way. This newer branch boasts of a spacious seating area, fun and playful decor as well as a showcase of meat rubs, condiments and sauces that the restaurant owners developed while perfecting their barbecue techniques. It is an ideal place for fun family dinners and boisterous barkada get-togethers.

Together with fellow bloggers, I was invited to attend a foodie meetup held here where I was able to sample many of Fat Daddy’s signature dishes.

Buttermilk Fried Livers (Php210)

Who would have thought that I will be munching on – of all things – chicken liver! But this is not your ordinary fried animal innard dish; the chicken livers are marinated in buttermilk, deep-fried, coated with Fat Daddy’s home-made barbecue rub and served with piedmont and Alabama sauces.

Jera’s Ultimate Pulled Pork and Bacon Nachos (Php330 for half serving/Php600 for whole)

A humungous pile of nachos, pulled pork barbecue, smoked bacon, salsa and sliced jalapenos, drizzled with oodles of homemade cheese sauce and Alabama barbecue sauce.

Hot Pork Poppers (Php175)

Imagine biting into thinly sliced pork belly dried to a yummy crisp and coated with homemade piedmont sauce.

Chef Pat’s Ultimate Cheese Dip (Php250)

Bless Chef Pat’s heart for this! Melted cheddar and mozzarella mixed with beef and onion make for a great dip for toasted bread and tortilla chips.

Crispy Fried Pickles (Php185)

Panko- and corn crust-coated dill pickles are deep-fried and served with Alabama-style barbecue sauce.

All those appetizers sure did their job: whet our appetites for more… because more certainly came.

The star of the show is undoubtedly the Holiday Feast Platter (Php2,699, good for 4 persons). The family’s holiday dinner will no doubt even be more festive with all its hearty inclusions:
Smoked Ham
Smoked Pork Ribs
Roasted Chicken
Barbecue Pulled Pork Salad
6 Pieces Salted Egg Chicken Wings
2 Slices of Chocolate Cake
Plain Rice
4 Glasses of Iced Tea
2 Extra Sides: choose from Southern Potato Salad, Buttered Veggies, Coleslaw, Sauteed Beans and Bacon and Chicken Macaroni Salad

I would have let this story end right here, being so full from the carnevore feast laid out for us, I was approaching food coma.

But, no, they just had to bring out dessert.

O. M. G.

Sweet saints above! Whatever good I ever did to deserve a taste of the Cajeta Cheesecake (Php155/slice) – a sinful variation of the dulce de leche – and the Caramel Drizzled Banana Pudding (Php170/slice) – moist butter bread drizzled with caramel and topped with home-made vanilla ice cream – I’m just glad the powers-that-be were around to see it.

The other delectable dessert treats we were able to gorge ourselves on include:

Pecan Pie (Php250)

Bacon and S’Mores Dip (Php250)

Spicy Chocolate Cake (Php125)

Pineapple Carrot Cake (Php125)

My foodie adventure at Fat Daddy’s Smokehouse was a feast for carnevores capped off with treats for sweet-tooths like me.

This Fat Daddy’s Smokehouse branch is located at the Ground Floor, UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City. It is open open daily from 9am to 11pm. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 7174482.

Fat Daddy’s original store is located at 171 Dao Street, Marikina Heights, Marikina City, open weekdays from 12 noon to 9pm and weekends from 11am to 9pm. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 995 5832237.

Disclosure: Together with other food bloggers, I was invited to attend a foodie meet-up held in this restaurant.  All the food items mentioned here were served to allow us to sample the fare and were not paid for by the attendees, including myself.