Long John Silver's Deep-Fried Twinkies Are the Best Thing in Fast Food Right Now

At first, the deep-fried Twinkies at Long John Silver's were only available as a dessert option on the "Fisherman's Feast" meal deal — after filling yourself with fried fish and hush puppies, you could choose either a strawberry cheesecake or a Twinkie, originally by Hostess but now battered and fried. And even then, they were only available in two test markets: St. Louis and Pittsburgh.

But customers started asking for them a la carte, a restaurant spokeswoman tells us. And then, after getting a taste, they'd ask for more than one — a half-dozen, a dozen, enough for the whole family. Taste one, and you might get an idea why: Perfectly crisp and lightly cinnamony on the outside, pleasantly creamy on the inside, and somehow not the slightest bit messy, they're like the genetically engineered love child of a churro and a cream puff.

So, hey .... the people have spoken. The fast food chain is now selling these deep-fried confections for 99 cents each, or a dozen for $9.99. You can pick up a treasure chest full (yes, they literally have cardboard treasure chests for such orders) and satisfy the entire office.

For today only — that's Wednesday, June 21 — Long John Silver's is upping the ante: They're giving away a free deep-fried Twinkie to anyone who asks. No purchase necessary; just head to the order counter and get in on the magic. Limit one per person, while supplies last. (See here for a list of locations.)

And for the rest of America, we can't promise you freebies, but we can promise you bliss. The deep-fried twinkies will only be in St. Louis until July 23, but after that the fast food chain plans a national rollout. Keep an eye on #DFtwinkieLJS to get in on the fried fun.

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