Hi Mary - I don't know whether the hush puppies you are referring to have a special recipe, but I do know that the tube shape can be easily be made by putting the batter in pastry bag with a large round tip, and using a knife to cut off even lengths of the batter as it comes out of the bag and falls directly into the hot oil.

I would hazard a guess that those tube-shaped hush puppies you get at a restaurant indicate that they aren't made by the restaurant, but are usually purchased "food-service" items.

Hope this helps a little.