Beto's Comida Latina

Empanada aficionados can breathe a sigh of relief: Beto's is back. Torta fanciers, on the other hand, are pissed. On the streamlined menu that accompanied Beto's move to scaled-down quarters up Broadway a piece from the previous location, the south-of-the-border subs are absent, and their vocal partisans have made management amply aware of their displeasure. Lay off, guys: Tortas, we're told, will be back. But nobody seems to be complaining about the missing platos. Roasted chicken, grilled whole fish, Beto's Mixed Grill are also AWOL, victims of the pared-down (but definitely not down-and-out) mindset that characterizes the new location. There is a new enthusiasm: Symbolic of tenant-landlord discord, an office building is said to soon be going up in Beto's old backyard. The current backyard, reclaimed from a parking lot and casually landscaped, is utterly anti-office in its laid-back demeanor. This is the place to chill, even in the heat. A mojito won't hurt at other times, despite, or perhaps because of, its reduced rum content.;- Ron Bechtol