For me it is easier to use google and end the search with "bitcointalk" I do not think the search function here is very good.
It is absolutely good as long as you know how to search the thing you are looking for as mentioned in OP, though i never tried with double quotes but so far i have been using the search button from homepage to look for the things i have been looking for and it worked fine for me.
And i will give that double quotes a try for sure, thanks for the tip, OP.