F.A.Q. Frequently Asked Questions

An Interview with Chef Richard King

What makes CuizineQuest.com different from all the other restaurants guides on the internet?

CuizineQuest.com is the only nation-wide directory for inexpensive, local eateries on the internet. Many other guides use standard lists of corporate and chain restaurants, or also include larger, more expensive establishments that do extensive advertising. CuizineQuest.com is an active community of food-lovers who review and rate their own affordable favorites and who participate in this communal venture to patronize and to perpetuate America’s network of terrific local dining places.

Why did you create this website?

I am hungry nearly all the time, and, like most chefs, I don’t do much cooking at home. Getting into my car makes me hungry, and so does driving to a location that I am not too familiar with. I had the idea that if people would tell me where all their favorite (inexpensive) places to eat are that I would feel greatly relieved.

Seriously, why did you create this website?

OK, well, actually hunger did have quite a bit to do with it. Many of us are too busy to cook lots of the time, and others of us don’t like to cook at all. Yet the vast majority likes to eat nourishing, freshly-prepared meals. Here I saw the opportunity to create a free national directory of our best local eateries where we can afford to dine without draining our bank accounts.

Is there any charge or subscription fee for users of CuizineQuest.com?

No, as I mentioned, use of the website is free to all viewers.

What kinds of restaurants are in the directory of CuizineQuest.com?

Inexpensive restaurants and carryouts where two people can dine for a total of $26. not including beverages, tip, taxes and desserts. This limit of $13 per person for total cost of appetizers and entrees will exclude many good places to eat, but we are after the neighborhood bargain jems where the bill for lunch or dinner might come very close to the amount it would cost to prepare a similar meal at home. This is survival dining on a national scale. This is the food guide where good nutrition meets sound personal economics.

And all types and styles of cooking are included.

What is there about your body that makes you hungry?

I am sorry, but that is not a frequently asked question, and, as such, I am going to skip it.

What, exactly, are the advantages to users of this site who review and rate their favorite neighborhood places to eat?

1) You favorite haunts may receive more patronage as a result of your reviews, and therefore they may be in business longer for you to haunt.

2) You will be doing a service to those diners who live in your neighborhood, or who happen to be passing through, and hopefully, they will return the favor by listing their own favorite local places to eat.

3) If you travel, or move to a new town, our directory will make you feel right at home immediately by enabling you to identify the great, affordable places to eat that your new neighbors have been gracious enough to review on this website.

In addition to using the directory, can I also contribute recipes and food blogs and participate in the forums.

Yes, please do, and there is no charge for any of these. All you have to do is register and follow the guidelines for postings.

Can owners of restaurants and carry-outs list and review their own establishments?

Yes. I don’t exactly encourage this, but there is nothing we can do, trying to be utterly democratic, to prevent this either. However, owners must, of course, adhere to the criteria we have established for the listings, and they should be forewarned that if their cuisine and sanitation are not on excellent levels, our rating system will reflect this and resulting negative ratings may actually work against them. If our readers find that particular establishments are lacking in certain areas, lower overall ratings may actually discourage patronage.

How would our world be different if we all contributed and made this directory an extensive listing of all our affordable favorite places to eat in the United States?

I have a utopian culinary vision of being able at arrive at any inhabited area of the United States knowing in advance where the local diners go to find wholesome, nutritious and freshly-prepared meals that can compete in price with comparable home-cooked dishes. The ubiquitous chain and fast-food restaurants are easy to find and a few of them serve pretty decent food. But no chain restaurants have food that can compare with the exciting cuisine offered in local privately-owned restaurants around the country -- establishments in which the chefs and owners take immense personal pride in serving some of the most varied and enticing plates in America. Many of these great places are well-known in their immediate locales -- many are known only to certain segments of the population in their surroundings -- and many are not well-known at all. In spreading the word about our best local eateries, we will not only help to keep them in business (and, hopefully, encourage them to prosper!) but we will also be discovering new and exciting foods to try, while, at the same time, enjoying the healthful sustenance that fuels our daily activities and creative spirits.

Will you be giving expensive automobiles and other highly-prized material objects to regular users of this website?

No.

Are the emotions elicited by a good meal the same as those brought about by reading a successful poem?

Thank you. I am asked this question almost daily, and, in my case, the sensations of well-being that I feel when digesting a well-turned literary phrase are identical to those experienced while downing an especially good sandwich, or other tasty morsel. Minus the goosebumps.

As a person interested in good food and in expanding my culinary horizons, how can I use this website to explore different varieties of cuisine that I have never tried before?

That’s easy. Refer to the listings and go to someplace nearby that has a type of cuisine you’ve never tried. Because folks living in your area have rated the restaurant, you’ll know just what to expect.

Who is your favorite TV cooking personality?

Alton Brown. (By far.)

Why is he your favorite?

For his serious lack of seriousness. Seriously.

What is the title of the last book you have read?

I no longer read whole books. I start at about the middle, read a few pages, and then, if I like the book, I read the last several pages. I am fascinated more by the author’s vocabulary and phrase structure than I am by the story-line or progression of narrative. This is a strictly poetic approach to the written word.

Who do you consider your culinary/spiritual mentor?

Edouard de Pomiane. Try Cooking with Pomiane or Cooking in Ten Minutes.

If you were reincarnated and born again as a food, what kind of food would you choose to be?

Sorry. Again, this is not a frequently asked question.