The Fried Dough Ho

I feel a little ashamed. I visited Voodoo Doughnuts back in February, during a trip up through the Pacific Northwest and it has taken me an awfully long time to getting around to documenting that visit. I was pretty excited to visit this brick-clad temple of fried dough as their Maple Bacon Bar is one of the most acclaimed in the doughnut world. I loved visiting Voodoo; the interior has ouija boards and a giant, hilarious sculpture. It is irreverent in all its offerings; giant glazed doughnuts with tongues sticking out at you, demonic pentagrams painted in icing, and frosting colors that are never found in nature.

The sexually-suggestive names ascribed to these painted wonders are equally humorous; Triple Chocolate Penetration is a chocolate cake doughnut, topped with chocolate frosting and Coco-Puffs cereal, Old Dirty Bastard is raised doughnut with chocolate frosting topped with Oreo cookies and peanut butter, Cock-N-Balls is a raised doughnut shaped — well, you can figure it out — like it belongs on a porno shoot. These are novelty doughnuts taken to extreme and very little offered at Voodoo is not irreverent.

I went to Voodoo twice during my trip. The first time was just for myself and my friend, Ralph, who had offered his couch to me during my trip. We tasted the famous Bacon Bar and when obtained fresh (i.e., the bacon is still crispy), it is quite exceptional. I also ordered a Voodoo Doll, raised yeast freakishly-shaped jelly-filled that is oddly decorated complete with a pretzel stake impaled through its heart. We tasted the Mango Tango, a raised yeast doughnut filled with mango jelly and topped with vanilla frosting. Of all, this had the most intriguing flavor; tangy and bright, it was an unexpected flavor for a doughnut.  And I ordered the Apple Fritter, that which I benchmark all doughnut shops. It was here that Voodoo sort of faltered as it was just too thick and cakey without that requisite consistent crunch and rich apple flavor that the Ho requires.

A week after my first Voodoo visit, I returned, this time to purchase more than a dozen offerings to bring home to my San Francisco buddies. What came with me (or was eaten en route home), included the Triple Chocolate Penetration, Grape Ape, and Tangfastic. The Grape Ape and Tangfastic are topped with flavored powdered sugars which are a bit over-the-top for my tastes. There is a point where the garnish overwhelms the actual fried dough. They are all indeed very memorable but are they all great doughnuts? Not necessarily. Like my trip to Gourdoughs in Austin, I can appreciate the novelty factor of certain flavors and garnishes. But there is a point where some flavors are just too much. I think those doughnuts with the children’s cereal, powdered Tang, bubble gum, or M&Ms are fun, but the flavors are too sickly sweet. The maple bacon, however, is a true joy and the quality of the basic cakes are exceptional. And, they offer Vegan options which is fabulous.

When I first thought of coming to Austin, it was for a mere vacation getaway and nothing more. It was not intended to be a grand culinary getaway and there was no particular destination eatery that I had intended upon delving into (well, except *some* form of barbecue). But then I learned about Gourdoughs. This was going to be THE fried dough destination for the Ho and it was a slight disappointment to discover they were not open in the afternoon, during my first attempted visit. Apparently Gourdoughs is becoming so famous that even Tony Bordain stopped by a week or so before me.

No matter. Going back was not a problem and in the early evening, a crowd was already starting to form. Located within a converted Airstream trailer on one of the more manicured and stylized corner lots where these trailers seem to be situated, we debated the extensive menu for the ultimate fried dough experience. I peered inside the trailer and saw two young guys, working hard over the frying vats, pulling out monstrously-sized raw doughnuts.

There was a significant debate on what flavors to order as the menu is extensive and bizarre. It was a given that the savory offerings had to be ordered; both the Mother Clucker, a giant doughnut topped with sliced fried chicken strips and honey butter and the Flying Pig, the doughnut with maple syrup icing topped with crisply-fried and curled bacon. Unlike Voodoo Donuts maple bacon bar, where the bacon is lied across the bar in limp, cold strips, here the bacon is almost a decorative flower of ribbons, perched atop the offering, almost precariously, just stuck in with the maple syrup acting as a glue.

Of the two savory doughnuts, the Flying Pig was the clear favorite. The amount of grease used to fry the chicken strips in the Mother Clucker was too prevalent and I was only able to taste hot grease and barely any of the subtle honey butter flavor. But I could see how this doughnut would be favored by college kids with its ample protein and sugar combination. But the Flying Pig, on the other hand, was well-balanced and perfectly fried. Not too much grease or residual oil and delightfully crispy bacon.

Initially, we decided upon two sweet versions of the Gourdoughs doughnuts, Son of a Peach with peach filling, cinnamon, and sugar and cake mix topping as well as the Dirty Berry, a classic doughnut with chocolate icing and grilled strawberries. As I was ordering, I asked the guy if there was anything truly exceptional that I was missing. He heartily recommended Granny’s Pie with caramel, pecans, bananas, and chunks of graham crackers.

Quite frankly, outside of the novelty factor of these doughnuts, I was not that impressed. Don’t get me wrong, at the time I was more than giddy at their opulent size, variety of toppings, and shear ingenuity of thought. But were they truly great tasting? Not really. I found them overly sweet and complicated. The peach especially was so sickly sweet as to be inedible for me. Of the three sweet ones, I did enjoy Granny’s Pie the best as the caramel was of exceptional quality and I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the crunchy nuts and graham crackers with the soft dough and bananas. But a mere bite or two sufficed. The toppings themselves obscured the quality of the fried dough itself.

If I lived in Austin, I am confident I would enjoy these as the culmination of a date; something to go and share with someone for fun and levity, with no intention of ever finishing one. There is too much of a reminder of fried candy bars or Twinkies at state fairs. Yes, one can do such a thing for the novelty, but it is hardly something one would want to eat often and being the Ho that I am, I am more intrigued with offerings that wouldn’t give me a coronary. It was definitely the most over-the-top and memorable Fried Dough experience I have had and for that, I am thrilled. But do I feel the need to do it again? Not really.
1219 South Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78704