Speedy’s Donut & Deli

Have been meaning to try Speedy’s for some time now, after reading all the awesome reviews. Had a friend in town and chose to use that as an excuse to try half the menu. :)
Unfortunately, most of it went into the fridge to be eaten at a time when we were so hungry we could overlook how bad it was. Well, very bland, anyway.
Here’s what we rated everything:
— egg rolls. They gave us spring rolls instead. Didn’t like the soy dipping sauce, and the spring rolls themselves were not worth the calories.
— seafood pancake. Flavorless (common theme) and greasy. Dipping sauce didn’t help.
— shrimp fried rice. Again, BLAND. Always a bad sign when you have to use salt on Chinese food!
— wings. Breaded (hate that. Bone-​in wings should not be breaded!), and the honey-​hot was nasty. Ranch was gross.
— fries — overdone and cold.
— burger. Cold, meat tasted weird.
This was 50 bucks worth of food. Well, we paid 50. Don’t think it was worth anywhere near that!
Also tried a few donuts, because the nice lady threw in some for free. She really was nice, and I hate to slam her place, but the food was crap. Also — be warned — there is a major religious atmosphere going on. Bibles on the table, psalms on the wall, and Jesus– music blasting. Just sayin.

Fuckin’ Perfect. Well, that’s what the Pink song playing on repeat said anyway. And you know, I’m not too far from agreeing with her.
We’ve been craving good bibimbap for months (without having to drive 30 minutes) and I think we’ve finally been blessed by the Korean food gods to receive it.
The donuts are pedestrian. But that’s not why you’re here anyway.
Everyone has pretty much said what needs to be said about the food, so just know everything on the Korean menu is awesome. My kid loved the dumplings and grinning each time Pink sang «Fuckin’».
There’s the typical fountain drink selection, a Kurig Machine, some old coffee, and 2x4s of beer and Lime-​a-​ritas.
The bathroom has to be unlocked with a key.
Everything is very clean.
The food is badass. Eat here.

It’s ok… Had the tofu vegetable soup which was pretty good. We also had the noodles– can’t remember what they call it but it’s supposed to be chop chae which is the clear glass noodles. Not really authentic but so so. We also tried the spicy seafood soup and that was definitely spicy even for us that like spicy foods. Flavor was pretty good. Portions are generous. Donuts there are also good. I would go back to try other dishes.

So great to have another Korean place in Memphis and GOOD Korean at that!!! The dumplings (mandu) were crispy and had a tangy dipping sauce. Bibimbop was chock full of meat & veggies. Available without the egg on top (my personal preference).
My favorite was the Beef clear noodle (aka chop chae/​jap jae.) Smoky flavor, tons of tender beef and generous portions. Ate 3 times from chop Chae alone! Plus, some tasty glazed donuts.
Nice, friendly service from the owner, a woman originally from Seoul. This is a perfect place for takeout Korean, somewhat close to Midtown area. Can’t wait to return and try, at owner’s suggestion, the sushi: California roll.
Yummy yummy!

So try numba 2
It seems the lady remembered that she forgot my bibimbap last time, perhaps she reads Unilocal,in which case hello: D
So I got the bibimbap and seafood noodle soup… by accident but it was easily remedied and I got the Tofu seafood soup that I originally meant to order.
It took awhile for the food to come out so I sat in a very comfortable high chair and got a closer look at the graffiti and other things for sale. Oh the ceiling fans were on full blast so I wasn’t sweating from midafternoon heat.
So the bibimbap,
It was delicious. Mind you it came in styrofoam and not my preferred lava bowl, but for $ 6.99 and that size portion, who cares?
It was weird seeing lettuce in it but not unpleasant. I do like that they give you a container of gochujang on the side. The gochujang wasn’t very sweet (homemade possibly?) and it was more of a sauce than a paste, I’m guessing because of the heat from the ingredients.
I think I’ve been spoiled by Kwik Check because I definitely missed the depth that the sesame seeds add to their version but anyway… bibimbap delicious, get it.
So even though I was stuffed by that massive amount of bibimbap, I have graciously sacrificed my waistline (although my waistline was huge in the first place any and it is pretty healthy for you) to eat half of the tofu seafood soup and all the sticky rice that came with it. (rice was delicious btw)
The soup is hot temperature wise but not completely uncomfortable and inedible. I put it in a bowl for easier eating and all I got was broth so I spooned some of the solid components and burned myself a bit. Lots of quality seaweed and I think I smelled crab as well as nice sized chunks of silky tofu. Very good mussels as well.
I don’t really know how to end this review now besides saying I am much more satisfied with my pickings than last time. Definitely will be back more often to try other things.
Oh and apparently they didn’t have kimchi ready (homemade) so definitely for next time

This is one of those places, like Kwik Check, that you just want to like. It’s got that scrappy personality that is so characteristic of Memphis as a whole — someone’s fixing a car in the parking lot, there are bars on the windows, a Pioneer speaker sitting outside blasting Korean tunes into the intersection of Airways and Park, and Bible verses posted on the walls. Perhaps you’d like to purchase some Christmas china while you wait for your 40 to be bagged?
I ordered vegetable fried rice and vegetable egg rolls. It took a few minutes for this to be cooked, and when the woman handed it to me, she made sure I knew that the egg rolls were made fresh, not frozen. I give this business props for all of these things — not least of which is the atmosphere, which is truly priceless.
Unfortunately, I am very sensitive to MSG, and immediately upon eating my food got that swimmy-​vision, racing heartbeat, oh-​god-​I-​have-​to-​go-​home-​from-​work feeling that for me always accompanies foods with MSG. For that reason, I would only go back for a donut. But do check this place out — if only just to enjoy a little piece of Memphis’ heart.

This store’s donut is very fresh, and have amazing taste.
Especially korean style food is good too.
I encourage you to go to this store and try.

All the talk about Speedy’s Donut and Deli got me interested. I never would have stopped in this store if it wasn’t for Unilocal.I am so glad I tried it.
I wanted to try everything but I knew I had to start somewhere The Bibimbap was a great place to start. It is delicious. Though it is lacking the hot stone bowl it is sizzling in at Kwik Check it is every bit as good. I also ordered a small Shrimp fried rice and a Seafood noodle soup. I only sampled the rice and soup as they will provide lunch and dinner tomorrow. The rice is perfectly cooked with plump fresh shrimp and not the least bit oily. The soup was placed in a plastic quart container with the noodles in a separate clam shell box for you to add when ready. A quick taste of the broth was savory and slightly spicy. Digging a little deeper I found oysters, mussels and baby octopus (?) to be the seafood component of this dish.
The husband and wife team that own the store are very friendly and make you feel so welcome. I was awarded a free donut and a couple of donut holes for being a new customer. They were very good as well.
I can’t wait to finish my delicious food and go back for more.

I read that Payne’s Bar-​B-​Q has been described by some national media as «In the hood. Open only during the day. Cash Only.» Well, Speedy’s may never reach the iconic status of Payne’s or get the national attention, but the same description applies, except that it probably can’t afford to open only during the day, yet. It’s open 7 days a week with ridiculously long hours.
This hole-​in-​the-​wall has been open for months but I believe it has recently adopted a rebranding strategy by changing signage and putting out banners, and it finally caught my eye on my daily commute route.
The menu is wild but makes sense considering the location and the ethnicity of the husband/​wife team. On the other hand, it seems that Korean food lends itself particularly well to wild fusion – the famed Kogi BBQ truck in LA as well as Bop N Grill in Chicago of Triple D fame comes to mind.
Donuts aren’t my thing (unless I can’t find anything else for breakfast), neither are burgers or wings (Speedy’s has them all). What keeps me coming back is the small selection of home-​style Korean food*. I had a seafood pancake and it might just be the meaniest Korean pancake I’ve ever had. A loaded 12″ beast for $ 7! It was unreal and not for those with a timid palate. I can’t wait to try their bibimbap (you will see variations of its spelling in different places). They also make their own kimchi (not uncommon in Korean families of course).
In my humble opinion, Speedy’s has found itself in the fine company of those odd little places with surprising finds that may open you up to a brave new world. The food is homey, humble and packed with flavors. I even like the graffiti-​covered interior walls. My only gripe is that the bathroom lock is a little cumbersome for those less mechanically inclined (myself not included of course), that and PSY on repeat.
*A fellow Unilocaler did a tally before, but can we say Memphis now has a total of 3 Korean restaurants? 2 full ones are Asiana Garden and DWJ, plus 2 halves being Kwik Check/​Crazy Noodle and Speedy’s.

As I write this review, I’m sitting in my office, mouth on fire, with my fan blowing full speed, the AC cranked up to the max, my pant legs rolled up, my shirt sleeves rolled up, my tie loosened, and my belt unbuckled. My coworkers have attempted to tun up the air, but i got up to chase one of them and my pants fell down, so they are now just rolling with my newly-​established dictatorship. I am not usually this tyrannical at work, but i just had my ass kicked by the generically named Seafood Pasta at Donut and Deli.
Veronica X mentioned this location on a post earlier today and I was intrigued. Since I had to take my girlfriend to the airport today, I decided to stop by on my way back to work. (Side note: my girlfriend is going to Vegas for three days. She packed 16 outfits — I counted. Her bag was 1 pound shy of being over the 50 pound weight limit. She also had a carry on! I’m going to Vega for three days in September for a wedding and I don’t plan on taking any luggage or even sleeping. THAT’s how you pack! See life rule number 2: Doing anything with a woman is ALWAYS more difficult than doing it by yourself. End Side note). The store is located on the corner of Park and Airways in a pretty suspect area. A guy actually came into the store and tried to sell me a pretty nice camcorder that had «fallen off the back of a truck». You may be concerned about the bars on the windows, but I assure you the inside is much nicer. The inside is bright and airy and clean, and has about 6 big screen TVs broadcasting the menu and one (unfortunately) broadcasting Psy’s greatest hits… on repeat. The menu is a diverse and eclectic collection of items. They have donuts, burgers, sandwiches, pig feet, PO boys, sushi, fried rice, soups, and noodle dishes. this place may be the illegitimate child of Kwik Check and Gibsons given how strange all of these orders work together. Oh, they also offer a DONUT BURGER. WITH BACON. Just yesterday my doctor was telling me how amazed he was that, given my size, I am so healthy and have no cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes. His words rang in my ear as i regretfully selected other menu items.
There was only one employee when i entered, and she graciously took my order, rang me up, cooked my order, and delivered my order. She did the same for the other four customers who came in while i was there. In about 15 minutes, my food was delivered out to me. The singular employee proudly showed off her creation before she stuffed it into a bag and sent me on my way. She never seemed exasperated having to do everything; in fact, she never stopped smiling. She also gave me a free donut since it was my first time in.
The donut might fall short of Gibson’s, but only slightly. This is a great donut. I only had the glazed, so I cant speak to all of them, but I was impressed. They had all the standards: jelly-​filled, krullers, twists, cake, frosted, glazed, and even pigs in a blanket!
I ordered the dumplings and the seafood pasta, as well. The dumplings were awful. I don’t know if there is a difference between a Korean dumpling and a Chinese dumpling, but if so, I only like the Chinese version. I ordered the Seafood Noodles hot. I never met a hot dish that was a little overwhelming until now. I mean, it was HOT. Not so hot to be unpleasant, but hot enough to make me unpleasant until i cooled down. Sorry, office-​mates, perhaps I shouldn’t be experimenting during business hours.