By Chris Cosci

Staying healthy is an ongoing concern for many people. One of the most common ways people take care of themselves is by eating healthier foods. People are always looking for food with less fat, less calories, and less sugar. In restaurants, more and more meals are being created to satisfy the health-conscious patrons. This has led to the appearance of several mysterious menu items, including meatless meatloaf - a food that throws the entire universe into disarray by its very existence.

On the other hand, there are some restaurants that continue to come up with new food ideas that dare people to break their diets and indulge in the insanity. One such restaurant is The Chipshop, located in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, NY. The chips sold at The Chipshop are not potato chips. They are what the British call chips, Americans call French Fries, and the French call fried potatoes that those stupid Americans call French Fries.

Chips are cooked by dropping them in a deep fryer filled with oil that is heated to well over 300 degrees Fahrenheit (that's right, I'm using British food terms and American temperature measurements in the same sentence). Now, imagine you're working at a chip shop. The crowds have started to die down and one of the deep fryers is empty and ready for the next batch of potatoes. Do you start preparing another batch of chips? Well, this was not what one employee at The Chipshop did. Instead, he came up with an idea. He decided to find out what would happen if he deep-fried a Twinkie.

Twinkies are one of the most beloved snack foods on the planet, despite their reputation for being entirely artificial and having an interminable shelf life. In fact, one couple recently decided to forego the traditional wedding cake and created a cake entirely out of Hostess snack cakes, including Twinkies. The top of the cake, where the bride and groom pieces were placed, was made out of two Ding Dongs. We'll just leave that one alone.

Anyway, deep-frying the Twinkie resulted in a cultural phenomenon. Giving people coronaries at the mere mention of the idea, The Chipshop has added deep-fried Twinkies to their list of desserts. Supposedly, the extra-hot oil melts down the creamy filling, causing it to seep into the bread. The Twinkie comes out in a thin, crispy crust. To make this dessert more sophisticated, The Chipshop drizzles a tart berry sauce over the mounds.

However, The Chipshop has not stopped at Twinkies. In fact, they also sell fried candy bars (like Snickers), and employees are willing to experiment with anything. Basically, whatever you feel like frying, they'll try it.

This trend has started spreading beyond The Chipshop. In fact, I recently went to a fair that had a booth selling deep-fried Oreo cookies. Some people I have spoken to swear that these bizarre concoctions are extremely delicious. Unfortunately, after giving their testimonials, most of these people dropped dead of a heart attack right in front of me.

Seriously, I have not tried any of these creations, and I don't have any immediate plans to change that status. If you don't mind, I think I'll just stick with my chocolate covered strawberries.