Fried dough is a flattened disc of yeast dough dropped into hot fat and served immediately, dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon in the sweet version or topped with tomato sauce and cheese in the savory one. It is a common fair food across upstate New York and New England. A funnel cake is a different food: thin batter poured in a spiral into the fat. The two are often sold from the same stand.
Fried dough
Flat fried yeast dough, a common fair sweet across upstate New York.