Courtesy Miranda Munguia
The Fattened Caf currently produces four varieties of longganisa (a fully-cooked, smoked, and cured Filipino breakfast meat). All of them are available at select Schnucks stores.
The Fattened Caf started through game nights hosted by Darren and Charlene Young. Darren had a newfound passion for smoking meats and grilling, and Charlene wanted to introduce new friends in St. Louis to authentic Filipino recipes. Together, the pair put together “piles of Filipino barbecue, vegetables, fruits, and stews stacked on top of jasmine rice, which was then served on top of banana leaves,” not unlike a traditional Filipino Kamayan feast.
What was once a game night quickly turned into a community revolving around Filipino food, with the Youngs launching The Fattened Caf in 2017, initially as a pop-up at Milque Toast and later as a pop-up dinner series inside Earthbound Beer.
Earlier this year, after a successful test launch at select Schnucks stores, The Fattened Caf began supplying four varieties of longganisa (a fully-cooked, smoked, and cured Filipino breakfast meat, using all natural, locally sourced ingredients), to 67 Schnucks stores in two states...and more varieties are in the pipeline.
Now, as part of Filipino-American History Month in October, The Fattened Caf is participating in a series of events and collaborations with area restaurants. “We are trying to bring Filipino food to the American mainstream nationally," says Darren, "starting with St. Louis.”
Demonstrations
- Q in the Lou, October 1–3: During the downtown barbecue, beer, and music festival, The Fattened Caf will show how to cook two Filipino dishes this Saturday, October 2. The first demo, at 2 p.m., will feature a Filipino barbeque pork steak, a grilled pork steak featuring The Fattened Caf’s signature barbecue marinade. Then, at 4:30 p.m., the second demo will highlight Biko, a Filipino sweet rice cake disk. The Fattened Caf will also be preparing longganisa on the demonstration stage, using a smoked Filipino-style sauce,
Collaborations
Courtesy Spencer Pernikoff
Pitmaster Haley Riley of Salt + Smoke and Darren Young of The Fattened Caf discussing their collaboration.
- Salt + Smoke, October 1–7: Spicy pork longganisa from The Fattened Caf will be served on a pulled pork sandwich topped with papaya atchara and a banana ketchup glaze. At the end of the week, Salt + Smoke's Hampton Village location (5625 Hampton) will host a ticketed Kamayan barbecue dinner.
- Nudo House, October 8–14: Chef Marie-Anne Velasco is collaborating on a Filipino stir-fried noodle dish called the Longganisa Pancit.
- Yaquis, October 15–24: The Double Longganisa Pizza will feature spicy chicken and sweet pork longganisa with pineapple on spicy red sauce, cooked in a wood-fired oven. Pair that pie with Earthbound Beer’s latest brew, created for Filipino American History Month, which includes traditional Filipino flavors including the Pandan Coconut Cream Ale. (The beer will be available throughout October.)
- Kain Tayo, October 20–21: The Filipino restaurant in Trenton, Illinois, will offer a classic Longsilog, with longganisa, garlic rice, a fried egg, and chicken longganisa sisig.
- Guerilla Street Food, October 26–31: A Filipino brat-style sandwich with longganisa will be sold at Guerilla's Webster Groves location, as well as the food truck.
- Izumi St. Louis, October 1–31: During Filipino-American History Month, the pop-up concept with a truck will add Longganisa Negima, TFC spicy chicken longganisa, to its Yakitori pop-up menu.
At Home
Want to cook Filipino food at home? Schnucks sells four flavors of longganisa. For a limited time in October, Schnucks will also feature The Fattened Caf’s longganisa in its digital app with $1 off and double rewards points. Schnucks' Gina Taylor says, “We are happy to join the Fattened Caf’s celebration of Filipino American History Month by offering special discounts and rewards on their one-of-a-kind sausages.”
