“World’s Best” recipes?

A few months ago, for some reason, I googled World’s best taco. I guess I was thinking I’d find a restaurant review, or maybe raves about a taco stand somewhere in L.A. But instead the top results were all recipes. The number one result back then has now settled to number two. A recipe would be even better than a restaurant, because I was pretty sure the world’s best taco stand wasn’t going to be within driving distance of Davidson, N.C.

What the heck, I thought, why don’t I try this recipe? It seemed easy enough. Here’s the link to the recipe, which was apparently the debut post on a short-lived blog called “God Damn Yank.” Even better, the recipe calls for “a really cheap cut of beef,” which meant I had very little to lose.

I made the recipe with just a single modification. Instead of using store-bought taco shells, I pan-fried my own in a little vegetable oil. MUCH better than store-bought — just cook them flat until they get slightly crispy, but not so crispy that they break when you fold them in half. For toppings, I used cilantro, guacamole, sour cream, and chopped tomatoes.

These tacos came very close to their billing, and we’ve had them several times since then. So, last week, we decided to try again on another food — macaroni and cheese. We came up with this. This blog is actually still being updated, so maybe the recipe would be even better!

Unfortunately, the recipe wasn’t nearly as good as the tacos. We’ve made better mac and cheese on our own, using a lot less heavy cream. Not that Mac and Cheese is supposed to be a healthy recipe or anything, but if you actually prefer a slightly healthier version, I don’t think “world’s best” applies.

So currently the Google “world’s best” rating system is batting about .500. I wonder if the first recipe was just an anomaly, or if there’s a chance of finding other great recipes in the same way. Or maybe I should create my own “world’s best recipe” — I can cook a mean Fettucine Alfredo!