While writing my recent 101 Best Tacos report, I ate more than 70 tacos — and hundreds between my colleagues — while driving around the city at all hours of the day and night for weeks, eating from food carts, trucks, and restaurant counters. And the most memorable tortilla specialty I encountered wasn’t actually one of the tacos on my list.
By the time I had tacos de camarones at Maestro restaurant in Old Pasadena, the ultimate 101 had already been decided, so for the purposes of this column, I recommend wet tacos.
This isn’t a taco drizzled with consommé like the countless birria joints you’ll find here. This is a taco soaked in soup, as wet as your clothes after a front-row ride at Splash Mountain.
“When I take an order, I tell them it’s a wet taco,” Maestro owner Sergio Martinez says, “Some people eat it with a fork and knife, some people eat it with their hands.”
Two tacos sit back-to-back in the bowl, forming a perfect circle. Plump shrimp, melted Monterey Jack cheese, and potatoes are stuffed into a thick, soft corn tortilla. A red soup drizzled on top and around it is chock-full of diced carrots and potato cubes. On top of that is a pile of cabbage slaw and pico de gallo that almost hides the tacos.
Tacos de Camaron at Maestro Restaurant in Old Pasadena.
(Maestro Restaurant)
When I shared this discovery with the rest of the food team, everyone was perplexed: Does it come from a specific region of Mexico? Do you dip your tacos in it? Are they really wet? How do you eat them?
“We talked about making caldo camarón,” Martinez said, “and we ended up making tacos camarón with real caldo in it.”
He and executive chef Jarritza Gonzalez combined the two cuisines, introducing tacos to the menu in early 2023. A warm seafood stew, queso tacos, and coleslaw all shoved together in a bowl, it definitely scores a 10 on the scale, alongside shepherd’s pie and albondigas.
The tacos are bathed in caldo de camarón, a rich shrimp soup made from slow-cooked shrimp shells.
Made from Kernel of Truth’s organic masa, the tortillas are thicker than most — the thickness needed to withstand the onslaught of caldo. They’re chewy but not tough, and taste of pure corn. The longer they sit in the soup, the more they act like a sponge, soaking up the flavor of the shrimp and the sweetness of the carrots.
I stared at the silverware and shook my head. I’m going to eat with my hands. I picked a taco out of the soup and took a bite. The red liquid ran down my chin and forearm. Despite my head tilted at an unnatural angle, bits of shrimp and potato spilled out the back. A fork and knife would have been more efficient, but less fun. I ate the taco, bite by bite, and sipped the soup.
The succession of textures and temperatures was impressive: hot soup, cheese, soft, mushy tortilla, and cool, crisp, fresh cabbage salad. The Monterey Jack cheese from the taco spilled into the soup, creating a melted glob of cheese that I scooped out with my spoon like a treasure.
Tacos Ahogados ordered at Maestro Restaurant in Pasadena.
(Maestro Restaurant)
This isn’t the only wet taco served at the restaurant: Tacos Ahogado have been on the menu since Maestro opened in 2017.
“It’s mainly served in Guadalajara, Jalisco, in soup,” Martinez said.
The taquitos are great on their own—sizzling, crispy, and loaded with shredded chicken—but the real star is the broth underneath, made from the liquid the chicken is cooked in. Seasoned simply with fresh lime juice, this soup seems like a flu-cure.
“I always tell my guests there’s no wrong way to eat it,” he said.
He’s not wrong, but one solution would likely require a restaurant’s entire stock of paper napkins.
For a full list of tacos, click here. If your favorite taco isn’t listed, let us know – we’d love to try it!