Who is that John Legend lookalike on ‘The Voice’? You’ve seen him at Tower Cafe

Benjy Egel
·5 min read
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Even before his star turn, Talakai heard the comparison from customers every day.

Lookalike face, close-cropped curly dark hair, similar beard and matching eyes — “you look just like John Legend,” Tower Cafe customers frequently told him, referring to the R&B superstar and coach on NBC’s hit singing competition “The Voice.”

A server for the beloved Land Park restaurant for past eight years, Talakai burst into the national spotlight last week during blind auditions for Season 24 of “The Voice.”

Legend signaled that he wanted Talakai, whose legal name is DeAngelo Watson, on his team just 20 seconds into the Sacramento native’s rendition of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” — then turned his chair around to see his doppelgänger on stage.

“A lot of times, people will send me pictures of people that they think look like me. And most of the time, I’m like ‘not really,’” Legend told Talakai on the show. “And then I turn around and look at you. We have the same haircut ... I was like ‘he really legitimately looks like me.’”

Tower Cafe server and John Legend lookalike Talakai is a breakout star on NBC’s “The Voice,” Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
Tower Cafe server and John Legend lookalike Talakai is a breakout star on NBC’s “The Voice,” Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.

Talakai, 34, isn’t the first Sacramento-area singer to find success on “The Voice.” His Rio Linda High School classmate Shane Q was among the final 10 contestants on Season 17, and Gina Miles won last season’s competition three years after moving to Sacramento.

The Yuba City resident’s music videos feature local landmarks such as Tower Bridge and the state Capitol. He sings to himself all day while at Tower Cafe, too, and has been known bust out in “Happy Birthday” for celebrating tables. One day, he’d like to perform for Tower customers as the night’s entertainment, he said.

“I’ve been trying to make (singing) a career since I was 18, and you know ... it’s been tough. But finally to get to this point, it’s very, very amazing,” Talakai said.

For now, Talakai will split his time recommending the Thai steak salad or chorizo con huevos to customers at 1518 Broadway with jetting down to Los Angeles for new episodes “The Voice” as long as he’s on the show. You can catch the competition at 8 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC.

What I’m Eating

One of Placer County’s best fine dining restaurants (Hawks in Granite Bay) meets one of the region’s top breweries (Moksa Brewing of Rocklin) at Moksa Barrel House, which opened last September in Roseville.

Moksa Barrel House is far more casual than Hawks or Hawks Public House, Michael Fagnoni and Molly Hawks’ other restaurant in East Sacramento. Mornings start with coffee, breakfast sandwiches; lunch and dinner revolve around burgers and chicken sandwiches, intended to be washed down with Moksa beer.

That includes the Nashville hot crispy chicken sandwich ($13), a slow burner with herby ranch slaw that was the judges’ favorite at this year’s Sac Hot Chicken Battle (disclaimer: I was one of the judges). Buttermilk fried chicken is the standard, but you can opt to have Petaluma Poultry’s Rocky Jr. chicken roasted instead for a juicy, healthier version.

The cowboy burger ($12) showed some restraint compared to the barbecue sauce-laden versions one finds elsewhere. The beef is sourced from Double R Ranch in Idaho and served with melted American cheese, pickled jalapeños and a pair of onion rings on a potato bun, but it’s the thick, crispy bacon that stands out in this burger.

Even though the Barrel House fries ($10) are a solid take on animal-style fries that hold their crisp better than In-N-Out’s original, I recommend the sweet, blackened chile-miso Brussels sprouts ($12) if you’re looking for an appetizer.

Moksa Barrel House

Address: 10007 Foothills Blvd., Suite 180, Roseville.

Hours: 7 a.m to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Phone number: (916) 783-1445.

Website: https://moksabarrelhouse.com/

Drinks: Housemade beer is the specialty, but there’s also wine, cider, hard kombucha and Mostra Coffee (San Diego) drinks.

Vegetarian options: Mostly-fried appetizers, a couple of salads and the option to substitute portobello mushrooms for any burger patty.

Noise level: Relatively quiet on my visit, but easy to see it getting loud during busier times.

Our cookbook countdown

Want to get “Sacramento Eats: Recipes from the Capital Region’s Favorite Restaurants”? This is my cookbook coming out Nov. 17, order here https://bit.ly/45r9Rng for a selection of restaurant recipes from around the Sacramento region.

Sacramento Eats: Recipes from the Capital Region’s Favorite Restaurants and Bars

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Openings & Closings

  • Butcher & Barrel will open Friday at 723 K St., a block away from Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento. Owned by Kevin and Cindy McBride, it will specialize in dry-aged steaks and whiskey cocktails with other options such as market-price lobster, beef carpaccio nachos and an Impossible banh mi.

  • Simon’s Bar & Cafe will close in late November after 39 years at 1415 16th St., owner Simon Chan Jr. said. The legendary dive bar and Chinese restaurant has been a favorite of downtown Sacramento politicos for decades, but its founder died in 2021 and Chan no longer wants to continue the business without his father.

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