Nuka-Cola Vending Machine's last ability triggers whenever you sacrifice a Food for any reason, not just to activate a Food's activated ability
You can also try building around what are generally considered to be bad cards
I don't know if the strictness of CGC will have an impact on perceived quality in the future
Creature flips are both the most broadly accessible, and restrictive in terms of deckbuilding, of this general gameplan while there are an absolute plethora of great options, and you nearly always have access to something available for Polymorph targeting, cutting down on creatures is a tough call, and oftentimes you'll need to truly lean into some other gameplan, as is the case with Urza in artifact-based stax, or spellslinging control
Its basically a one-mana Cryptic Command, and that comparison should show you why this is one of the best Modern sideboard cards