Today, I present some questions and answers (Q&A) about the Turkey Sub Quest project and the food reviews on Cigar Coop. Since our first food review appeared on July 5, 2024, a wave of questions has been generated on the project and where Cigar Coop is heading with this.

1-How did the Food Reviews / Turkey Quest project start?

First, readers can thank the Tobacconists Association of America (TAA) for this. On March 27, 2023, I abruptly decided to end coverage of TAA Exclusive Cigars on Cigar Coop The Magazine. This included reviews and news. (This restriction does not apply to some of our other brands run by Coalition members who have control of their own content). I won’t get into the reasons for ending TAA coverage, but TAA was quite frustrating to cover. This was much like store-exclusive stuff – namely, high investment, little support from those involved with TAA, and minimal ROI.

We had done food stuff on the Prime Time Show for over seven years with “FSG Beef Segment” (previously Cattle Baron). We also talked about food on various shows. Requests came in for us to do food reviews. After TAA was eliminated from further coverage, I hesitated for a while before finally deciding to give it a try this year once PCA coverage was over.

2-What was the rationale behind Turkey Quest?

Initially, it was going to be called Turkeypalooza. I still like the Turkeypalooza name better, but it seemed trite.

First, I didn’t want to do restaurant reviews but wanted product reviews. I’ll have more about this when we get into the actual Turkey Quest competition. Second, I wanted to develop a concept where similar products could be reviewed from different places. I wanted those places to be accessible to many people, so I focused on chains and franchises. Third, I was intrigued by the idea of grouping the product reviews and seeing how they competitively stacked up. Thus, the concept was born.

3-Why Turkey?

I don’t know why I selected turkey. It might be because the Turkeypalooza name came into my head and stuck.

4-Now that Turkey Quest is over, what’s next?

Pizza – from national pizza chains will be the next project. This will be called “The Cheese Pizza Challenge,” it will feature six national pizza chains, using a concept similar to Turkey Quest but with different parameters for scoring.

5-Will this be an ongoing feature on Cigar Coop?

If you noticed, the Turkey Quest reviews have been posted under “The Blog.” This is because I was putting up a test balloon to see where it would land. But the feedback has been positive, and now that we are moving on to pizza, it’s safe to say this will continue.

A new brand name will be established for the food reviews. I’ve never been satisfied with the Cigar Coop name, but it has stuck and is established. This time, I want to put more thought into the brand name. The new brand will then have things such as Turkey Quest, the Cheese Pizza Challenge, etc.

6-What did you learn from Turkey Quest?

Most of the feedback shows that most people are brand loyal rather than sandwich loyal. It’s clear that people saying “Jersey Mike’s is the best” were not basing their decision on Jersey Mike’s Turkey and Provolone.

Much like you don’t review a cigar based on every cigar in the brand, you don’t review a sandwich based on everything offered in the sandwich shop. One reason why I did not go to the shop reviews is that, down the road, we may see that other sandwiches score differently from other places.

7-Why didn’t you include Wawa in Turkey Quest?

Wawa is not locally available in North Carolina. While it has enough stores to qualify (my guideline is 100 minimum), it was not accessible.

8-Did Turkey Quest Go the way you wanted?

I didn’t have a preconceived notion of how it would go. However, stacking up the results did make me look at things differently. It also re-emphasized my point that certain chains perform better with certain products in terms of quality. For those wondering, here is how it came out.

The Turkey Quest Standings (Final Standings)

Note: There will now be six subs from six different chains as a part of the Turkey Quest competition

	Sub	Meat/ Cheese (4)	Bread (2)	Condiments (2)	Intangibles (2)	Score (10)
1	Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop Homemade Turkey	3.50	0.50	1.25	1.25	6.50
	Publix Turkey Sub (Turkey Pub Sub)	2.50	1.50	1.00	1.50	6.50
3	Jersey Mike’s #7 Turkey and Provolone	3.00	1.00	0.75	1.25	6.00
4	Subway Oven Roasted Turkey	2.50	1.00	1.25	1.00	5.75
5	Firehouse Subs Turkey and Provolone	2.75	0.50	0.75	0.75	4.75
	Jimmy John’s Turkey Tom	1.75	1.50	1.25	0.25	4.75

9-Will Scoring Change?

I don’t think you can score every product the same because of its composition. Therefore, pizza will have a different scoring system than turkey. The common denominator will be a ten-point scale where zero is terrible, ten is perfect, and five is average. I envision the ten-point system de facto for food products.

10-Will a number of six always be used for the number of items reviewed in a project?

No, I envision it will vary. There are no minimums, and no maximums.

11-Will anything be reviewed on its own instead of in a competition?

Yes, but this is an exception rather than a rule for now.

12-Will this significantly reduce cigar coverage?

I’m only committing to three to four food reviews per month, so this won’t make a dent. Plus, cigar content is still published on the day of a food review. I will say I am tired of pulling on a rope when it comes to covering the TAA or store exclusives.