A chef at a luxury hotel in Baja has pulled off a first: He’s created a taco that nobody will order. Juan Licerio Alcala was under the impression that guests paying thousands of dollars per night to stay at the Grand Velas Los Cabos resort, where he’s the executive chef, appreciated extravagance, so he whipped up “the world’s most expensive” version of his country’s plainest dish. His deluxe taco features a gold-infused corn tortilla that’s filled with Kobe beef, langoustine, the world’s priciest caviar, and a black-truffle Brie cheese. It gets an “exotic” salsa made from chiles, ultrapremium añejo tequila, and kopi luwak, the rare coffee made from beans pooped out by an Asian palm civet. An extra round of gold flakes tops it all off.
To hypothetically order it, a customer must already have booked the hotel’s presidential suite. After they’ve put down a $12,500 deposit, Licerio will present them with their singular taco, either inside a ring of motorcycles in the middle of the desert, or during a marriage proposal — their choice. He suggests pairing the bite with a $150,000 bottle of Pasión Azteca, which is, predictably, the world’s most expensive tequila maker.
Licerio says people at the hotel are apparently “a little surprised” to learn this thing exists, when they can go grab a better-sounding one on the street for ten pesos. But, he adds, “Then I explain the delicacy, the technique, and the harmony that they will lift from the plate, and that it’s worth it.” Several guests “mostly” from the U.S. (you know the kind) have apparently inquired about it, but not even any of them have bought one yet. So weird, right?