John Legend Has So Many Favorite Restaurants That He Helped Create an App to Share Them — and Told Us All About It
It turns out the hit singer is the restaurant guide we didn’t know we needed and is looking to share all of his favorite spots.
Courtesy of John Legend (From left to right) Chrissy Teigen, Mike Rosenthal, John Legend, and Jen Atkin
Head out to dinner with John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen, and you may just find yourself at one of the best restaurants in town.
In a new venture that was sparked from countless double dates and trips around the world with friend and photographer Mike Rosenthal and his wife, celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin, the hit singer helped launch It’s Good. The social media–like app is made for restaurant lovers — and only focuses on places that are, just that, good.
“We all travel together a lot and of course we all love food, [and] we love having great experiences during our travels and restaurants are so key to that,” Legend told Travel + Leisure while explaining what inspired the app’s creation.
Courtesy of John Legend
Crediting the idea for the app to Rosenthal, Legend mentioned that the friends are often considered go-to resources for restaurant recommendations anyway and wanted to put their knowledge to use.
“We are often the people that are friends reach out that saying, ‘Hey, do you know a good place in this town?'” he explained, mentioning that he originally used his Notes app to keep track of his favorite spots. “We felt like there had to be a better way of sharing recommendations, storing your favorites, and then discovering new favorites through other people whose tastes you trust and we decided that It’s Good should exist.”
It’s Good also features recommendations from other famed tastemakers including Shay Mitchell, Jessica Alba, and more.
John Legend
Do you have a go-to plane snack?
I like the cheese plate, American does a cheese plate a lot, I’ve had it because I’ve flown American several times in the past few weeks and I’ve always ordered the cheese plate.
Aisle or window seat?
I prefer window more than aisle. I like the wall to sleep, it’s a little more private.
Do have a go-to plane activity?
Good time to read a lot of emails for sure, but also I like to catch up on movies I haven’t seen, I also like to play like NYT crossword and other games on the NYT app.
Item that’s always in your carry-on?
A: Laptop of course, headphones, I like over-the-ear headphones because it lets other people know that you’re actually listening to something and not to bother you, that’s my biggest gripe with earbuds.
Tip for traveling with kids?
A: iPads, that is the tip. That’s the only tip.
The app, which is just starting to launch and is now accepting members through a waitlist, is rolling out in Los Angeles and New York. Legend and Teigen used to live in New York and love to return to visit their favorite restaurants.
“A lot of the time when we come to New York, it’s about the familiarity of places that we loved for a long time,” he said. “Places like Frank in the East Village for Italian or Fish Cheeks, a Thai place or any of David Chang’s places … Ippuddo as well, and then we also try to check out some new stuff that wasn’t around when we lived there.”
As much as the couple loves New York, one city he’s excited to see make its debut on the app? His old stomping grounds.
“I think one city that I’m partial to, and I went to college, is a city called Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,” he said. “It’s a great food city, and I’d love to get more recommendations in Philly.”
Off the screen, Legend is dad to four little ones, and has learned a few lessons when it comes to dining with his family. His No. 1 tip? Let the kids eat earlier.
“Kids are a whole other thing,” he said. “They’ll want like chicken fingers, and pizza, and simple pastas and we’ll obviously want something a bit more sophisticated, but occasionally we’ll go out with them, I think Italian always works with them, but a lot of times the strategy is to let them eat before you and go out separately.”
Long before kids were in the picture, travel played a significant role in Legend and Teigen lives; the singer proposed in the Maldives and the two got married in Lake Como, Italy. And now — even though the couple seems to have dream scenarios covered — they still have travel goals.
“The places we haven’t done a lot of exploring are in South America,” he said. “There’s quite a few places there that we haven’t really been to. I’ve been to Brazil a few times for work, but I feel like we’ve haven’t been to Colombia together, we haven’t been to Chile, or some of those places, and that would be fun, too.”
Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.