I tried deep-fried Twinkies a few years ago when they were becoming popular. I didn't care for them much; there didn't seem to be much to them. You put it in your mouth, it dissolves, your arteries go clang! and that's that.
But HoHos are a different story. They're more substantial, for one thing, not all sponge cake and filling. So I decided to do a taste test...
... once I could find them. As far as I could tell there's only one place at the Fair that sells 'em, and that's the 1853 Grill on Restaurant Row. I noticed the deep-fried HoHos sign the day before the fair but didn't note where it was, and for the next several days kept my eyes peeled for it. Finally I noticed it again; I had missed it because it was not raised up and there had probably been people in front of it for the last week.
Anyway, the HoHo was ordered, made fresh, and presented to us with about a pound of powdered sugar on top.
As I photographed it (you can't imagine the looks people give you when you're photographing your food) I noticed it looked very much like a deep-fried Twinkie. Could I have been given the wrong thing? But I opened it up for an innards picture and it was a HoHo all right.
Kyle helped me eat it. He doesn't like deep-fried Twinkies either, but agreed that the HoHo was much better. It tastes like hot (very hot!), deep-fried chocolate cake, with just a hint of syrup. It didn't need the powdered sugar at all. It beats a deep-fried Twinkie hands-down!
