Newbie alert! I've only played 2 days, so forgive me if I'm merely being dim and gently slap me round the face and point me in the right direction...
So most quests have clickable links to the encyclopedia for the required items, but usually don't go far down the dependency tree - for example (since the game is closed now I'll have to make one up), "Quest: make a meat sandwich" links to the meat sandwich Encyclopedia item, but doesn't mention that you need EZ Cooking I and a chopping board and flour (from grain and that comes from chickens) and salt (and that comes from whichever vendors) and a frying pan. All of these are things that the game has told me so there are no spoilers involved, but there isn't a "Things I've Learned" or even a "Things the Magic Talking Rock told me in jocular asides" journal to refer back to.
In the first cookery quest I bought salt from an auction because I had no idea at all where it came from, but this topic was brought about mostly because I spent aaaaageeeess trying to remember where the Bureaucratic Hall was while setting about getting my papers!
* perhaps adding visited locations to the map search would help? So I could hunt up the Bureaucratic Hall directly, but only after I've been there. That'd be handy for underground stations and the like too.