A revolutionary concept in fast food, Abbay's restaurant serves home cooked food at warp speed, with all the vegetables and flavor you'd expect from Grandma.

Located on Germantown Parkway in Cordova Tennessee, Abbay's serves piping hot southern style home cooking at fast food speed. As well as having a drive through, Abbay's offers a rather simple dining room for those wishing to eat inside. Guests walk up to a cash register to place their order, and select an entree from a streamlined menu presented on a board behind the register. On an average visit, by the time you pay for your order, your meal is ready to go. Customer service is pleasant and efficient, and the restaurant is well presented and clean.

Where did the Name Abbay's Come From?

When Rob Abbay was first married, working on the family farm in Mississippi didn't leave much time for cooking at home. He and his wife were dismayed to find that there were no fast food options that offered vegetables.

That's when Abbay got the idea to start a meat and vegetable drive-thru restaurant. He opened Abbay's in Olive Branch Mississippi, and later, he opened a second location on Germantown Road in the Memphis/Cordova area.

Menu Options

Abbay's slogan is "How the South does Fast Food." Customers can choose from one of about 10 entrees including a nightly special. From there, you may select one, two or three vegetables and choose between a roll or cornbread. Food is served on a plastic throwaway plate, with drinks and side items presented in Styrofoam.

A few of the Entree selections you can choose from:

• Meat Loaf with Traditional Red Sauce
• Country Fried Steak in Brown Gravy
• Baked Catfish
• Fried Catfish
• Roasted Chicken
• Fried Boneless Chicken
• Beef Tips and Rice
• Hamburger Steak
• Chicken and Dumplings
• Pork Chops

The 20 available vegetable selections include, but are not limited to the following selections:

• Mashed Potato
• Fried Okra
• Sweet Potatoes
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Turnip Greens
• Spicy Friend Broccoli
• Black Eyed Peas
• Green Beans
• Broccoli and Cheese Rice Casserole
• Fried Potatoes

Dessert options include a wonderful Banana Pudding, Peach Cobbler, Rice Krispie Treats and many others. Drinks are the standard fare of sodas and tea, both sweet and unsweet. The sweet tea, in typical southern style, is almost too sweet. A happy medium is mixing a little unsweet tea into the cup for the perfect balance of tea and sugar.

Is the Food at Abbay's Good?

The country fried steak is tender and well seasoned with a brown gravy. The portion is suitable for an adult, and the hot buttery roll tastes freshly baked. The fried potatoes are surprising, they are delicately fried, light golden and have a fantastic texture and taste. The spicy fried broccoli is another delight, packing more of a spicy kick than expected.

Beef Tips with Rice is extremely tender and perfectly seasoned, and the Baked Catfish comes piled high on a bed of white rice.

One Abbay's regular, Charlotte Norrid commented "Everyone I have eaten here with has enjoyed their food, I haven't known anyone to be displeased with a dish they ordered."

Price Range

Abbay's offers family dinner combinations with jumbo sides and a mixture of entree selections aimed to please a group. Prices are moderate, with a dinner for two including drinks and multiple vegetable selections running about $17.00.

The atmosphere is kid friendly, well lit and suitable for guests of all ages.

Conclusion: Abbay's is a Home Run

Next time you're crunched for time, pass on the .99 cent burger menu and head to Abbay's. You can't beat fresh vegetables and meat served hot and tasty in the time another chain can salt your mass produced french fries.

Abbay is focusing on opening a few more restaurants in the Mid-South region, and then plans to look at other markets for expansion.

Abbay's is open from 11am to 9pm daily. Abbay's at 2345 N. Germantown Rd can be reached at 901-384-7622..

The Olive Branch restaurant located at 8109 Camp Creek Blvd can be reached at 662-890-4222.