You know the feeling you get when you hear “Stairway to Heaven” turned into elevator Muzak? That same feeling may occur to longtime patrons of 12th & Porter the next time they peruse a Shoney’s menu.
Jody Faison was dining at Shoney’s in Donelson recently and what to his wandering eyes should appear but the familiar-sounding Pasta Ya Ya. The Pasta Ya Ya Faison invented for his 12th & Porter restaurant 15 years ago features andouille sausage, chicken, Cajun cream sauce, and fettucini.
Shoney’s Pasta Ya Ya—featuring the same basic ingredients— is part of an Italian promotion featuring dishes like “Grilled Salmon Alfredo” and “Italian Feast.” A radio campaign touting the menu says, “We believe in Pasta Ya Ya.” At press time, Shoney’s executives were at a corporate retreat and were unavailable for comment on the culinary coincidence.
12th & Porter’s Pasta Ya Ya is $6.75 at lunch, $10.25 at dinner, while Shoney’s dish is $7.99 and adds shrimp.
After Faison made his discovery, he wrote Shoney’s a tongue-in-cheek letter, pointing out that Pasta Ya Ya had been on the 12th & Porter menu since the restaurant’s opening and suggesting that if they liked it so much, perhaps he and Shoney’s could work out an arrangement to use some of Jody’s other clever menu ideas and marketing expertise. The return communication he received thanked him for his letter and suggested that if he were interested in employment at Shoney’s, he should submit a résumé.
Fat chance, Big Boy.
