The Philadelphia Bakery That Serves Up Delectable Corn Dog Donuts

The cheesesteak egg roll. The salad pizza. The sushi burrito. We can't get enough of these epic mashups, when this food meets that food and the two form a perfect union. It's somehow completely unexpected, yet makes perfect sense at the same time — and we can't help kicking ourselves for not thinking to put them together sooner.

What's amazing is that there's actually a scientific reason why we love these mashups. According to Neuromarketing Professor Prince Ghuman who co-wrote "Blindsight: The (Mostly) Hidden Ways Marketing Reshapes Our Brains," our brains are hard-wired to crave both familiarity and novelty, but what they "really love is a perfect combination of both" (via Southern Living). And what's more familiar-slash-novel than eating your favorite comfort food in an entirely new way?

It seems like we're all just patiently waiting for the next big food mashup to come along and knock our socks off. Well, it's here. And we have a small Philadelphia bakery to thank for it.

The corn dog donut hails from Okie Dokie Donuts, a small shop in South Philadelphia that fries up artisanal gluten-free donuts. In true this-food-meets-that fashion, the donut is described on the menu as a Sabrett all beef hot dog encased in a honey corn donut, and here's the kicker: It's served with a side of deli mustard.

How did this corn dog creation come to be? It was the donut maker's birthday gift to herself. When Okie Dokie owner Carol Ha first introduced the new donut on the company's Instagram, she explained that to celebrate her birthday she wanted to combine two of her favorite things. "Is this my proudest moment in donut-making? Maybe," she says in the caption.

It turns out the novel birthday idea was definitely something to be proud of — it was a huge hit with customers over the summer, and now, it's here to stay. The donut is gluten, soy, and nut free, and still graces the menu at Okie Dokie. And more good news, as Ha divulges in another Instagram post: "Different variations of the corn dog donut to come later whenever I find the time to play around. Right now I'm thinking cheese..."

When it comes to donut mashups, there's truly something for everyone. If you can't make it to Philly, there's more where the corn dog donut came from — here are some deliciously clever creations that you can taste across the country.  

Donut meets cookie: Krispy Kreme just dropped a new collection in partnership with Biscoff — you can grab a Biscoff cookie butter Kreme-filled donut, a Biscoff iced donut, or a Biscoff cookie butter cheesecake donut at Krispy Kreme during January.

Donut meets bagel: If you're more of a savory donut fan, The Doughnut Project in Manhattan boasts its famous "The Everything Donut" on the menu, which is covered in a sweet cream cheese glaze and topped with all the seeds from the everything bagel.

Donut meets grilled cheese: Yup, this exists too. Tom and Chee offers the "Grilled Chee Donut," a glazed donut sandwich that's grilled and filled with mild cheddar cheese, at many locations around the country.