Blogger Alley Nomi found a recipe for success in attracting followers just by posting a simple recipe titled “How to make Chico’s Tacos at home”.

She’s been posting about “sex, drugs and rock and roll,” on her playful blog of  pop culture links, quotes, photos and plenty of attitude for several years now, but putting up a homemade Chico’s recipe brought in the crowd.

Apparently, the answer is “Oh Yeah!” Think of all the poor ex-pats spread all over the world who can’t zip down to their local Chicos. This recipe is a gift of happy memories.

Chicos fanatics help drive the cheesy fast-food favorite onto all sorts of Best Tacos lists like:

The Daily Meal’s 35 Best Tacos in America

The Food Networks “Best Thing I Ever Ate”

ElPaso Times: Best Tacos

Locals know that there are two camps for Chico’s Tacos – those who love the gooey comfort food and those who hate the soupy, fat/cholesterol bomb. But those who fall into the love-it camp are addicts. It is the first stop they make when they visit town. They’ve tried to have friends ship the components in dry-ice packs, but it isn’t the same. They tried to make it on their own, but it didn’t turn out right.

So, when Alley Nomi gave the Internet a recipe that captures the key combinations of savory, spicy, saucy and gooey ( including the treasured neon green salsa to top it all off), it is no wonder the fans flooded in.

Another example of one of the simple pleasures of life in El Paso – the food that binds us. (Seriously, no cheese pun intended there).