Welcome to Culinary Quest, one and all! For some of you, this is a return to my writings about restaurants I have the pleasure of visiting. For others, this will be your first exposure to my forays to the eateries I enjoy exploring. Regardless of your status, I am very glad to have you with me. I hope to entice your taste buds and your imaginations with my words so that you, too, will wish to visit the restaurants that I visit.
Please sign my guestbook to let me know you've been here.
My intentions in undertaking this blog website are manifold. First, I wish to make you, the public, aware of the vast number of culinary pleasures available to you as I encounter them along my way. Second, I want to open the door to the singles crowd to new possibilities for places to go other than pizza shops and Denny's. Finally, for those already in relationships, whether longterm or married couples, you need to still date to keep the magic alive! (Yes, I like to play Dr. Ruth every now and again.) Use these restaurants as chances to have fun and, in some cases, add some romance to your lives.
I welcome comments and feedback on any of my reviews at culinaryquest@hotmail.com. Perhaps you have eaten at a restaurant I have reviewed and would like to share your experience with me; maybe you would like me to review a favorite restaurant of yours. In a favorite scenario of mine, you own or work for a restaurant and would like me to review your establishment. Let me know! If it's not too far away from me, I will try to get there to talk with the owner or chef, eat the fare, and do a review.
Since proper food-wine pairing can play an important role in enhancing a dining experience, I will also provide my critique of the wines that I choose to accompany my meals. I am not an "expert" wine critic. My opinions are merely subjective assessments of the wine chosen for a specific meal or course. Do remember, though, that even the experts' opinions are subjective and may vary from one to the next.
I will always give my honest opinion, though, so do not expect to receive rave reviews just because I eat at a restaurant. If I find faults, I will point them out. If necessary, I will even pan an establishment; that's part of the territory of writing reviews. This is generally the exception to the rule, I find. I have only had to do so once in 15 years. (Yes, I have been doing this for newspapers, for blogs, and for myself for 15 years.)
I rate my dining experiences in five areas: atmosphere, service, presentation, taste, and value. These are all scored on a 1 to 10 scale with 1 signifying an establishment that should truly consider closing its doors and 10 being a restaurant that has achieved amazing levels of performance and achievement. Rather than expecting restaurants to attain scores of a middling level, say a 6 or 7, I hope to find restaurants performing at the 9 or 10 level. Some may even be reaching higher than this.
So sit back, enjoy the ride, and take the opportunity to sample the various restaurants presented when you can. Bon appetite!
--V. DeMasi