It’s Good: John Legend’s Positive-Only Restaurant Review App

You’ve been on Google. You’ve been on Yelp. You’ve been on TripAdvisor, and heck, you’ve even been on Facebook, looking for someplace to eat, looking to see what the people say about the noodle place downtown or the tavern up the road, that little bakery by the railroad tracks or just where you can get some good Italian wedding soup.

You check the reviews, hone in on the higher star-rated restaurants, then dig deeper, reading peoples’ experiences. Honest Adam thinks this is the best veal parm he’s ever had, but Belligerent Belinda had a problem with the wait staff and said the food was cold. And TackyTina thought the decor was dated. And HungryHubert thought the portions were too small! But- but Honest Adam really went into detail! How can you balance these opinions? Who do you trust?

Well- welcome to the end of the Preamble, and welcome to the age of It’s Good.

Wuzzat?

What’s that? It’s Good is the new restaurant review app from musician, actor, and apparent food eater, John Legend, along with this co-founder (and CEO), entrepreneur Mike Rosenthal.

At the moment, the app is invite-only and has a waitlist for access, but- but you probably still want to know WHAT it is, don’t you? Okay, let’s get it!

As noted, those leaving reviews on It’s Good will be an exclusive bunch made up of “CELEBRITIES, CHEFS, FOODIES AND TASTEMAKERS.” These are, in theory, people you admire, trust, and care to know the opinions of, as it relates to dining in your metropolitan area (when you sign up, you’ll be asked which city area you live in/visit most often, so sorry for those living in the non-celeb-laden flyover states).

Let me let them say exactly what their belief system is:

WE BELIEVE A RESTAURANT REC FROM 1 TRUSTED FRIEND IS MORE VALUABLE THAN RECS FROM 10,000 STRANGERS.

Big beliefs, eh? But hey, it kinda gives you hope. And what gives me a bit of hope is their emphasis on positive reviews only. How this will be policed remains to be seen, but it is a clear priority, according to their website:

IF YOU DON’T HAVE SOMETHING GOOD TO SAY, DON’T SAY IT AT ALL.

EVER HEARD THAT PHRASE? WELL, WE COULDN'T AGREE MORE. IN WORLD WHERE MOST SOCIAL APPS ARE A PARADOXICAL SPACE OF A LITTLE GOOD SPRINKLED WITH A LOT OF NOT SO GOOD, WE’RE BUILDING AN APP WHERE THINGS ARE JUST GOOD. SO, WE NIXED THE STAR RATING SYSTEM. ON IT’S GOOD, PLACES ARE EITHER GOOD OR NOT.

They REALLY like that all caps look on their site, so we get to enjoy it too.

Irreverence aside, this is refreshing. We’ve all sifted through reviews where it is obvious who the problem was in a low-rated dining experience. I'm also not convinced this app is going to unseat Google or Yelp as the go-to’s for restaurant reviews. But I admire what it’s doing and will take the ride with them.

If you’re interested, get thee to the waitlist, STAT!