big block vs. smal block

I was always under the impression that for a street machine torque is what you want. So by that assumption I would say that a mild big block would give you the torque, smooth idle, good vacuum, and overall excellent street manners that a more radical small block could ever give you. But I come from the generation that would grab a motor, mill the heads, put in an RV cam, and off you go to the strip!!!!!!!! So who knows.