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City Cast Test City

When Pete Turner opened the first Illegal Pete’s on The Hill in Boulder in 1995, he quickly gained a following for his $5 burrito deal. He soon expanded to Denver, where he built his fast-casual burrito chain into a local darling. While its Denver-style Mission-style rival Chipotle went global, Illegal Pete’s kept the community’s heart with top-notch queso, a bar, and a program that supported local artists.

But then a couple years ago, something seemed to change. The vibe shifted. Nasty comments started showing up online. There were allegations of Pete slashing worker benefits, deteriorating food quality (including the famous queso), and some pretty harsh texts leaked from Pete to his employees.

So we invited Pete onto the City Cast Denver podcast today to ask what’s up

One online commenter claiming to work at the DU location said that their store recently received a delivery of “steak” that was actually pork, and they ended up 

serving “medium rare” pork for a month.

 The commenter alleged that the DU location was “ground zero for a food poisoning epidemic” that was “not taken seriously at all.” 

 and insists that he’s made no changes to the quality of his ingredients.

He did acknowledge, however, that the company has experienced some “growing pains.” He opened three new locations in 2024, fully remodeled a fourth, and hired 200 new workers in the space of five months. 

“We’re certainly not perfect,” Pete told us. “We made mistakes,

 and I think there probably was a period where our consistency had been challenged.” But the quality of the ingredients he is sourcing, he emphasized, has not changed.

One of the most serious allegations we saw online was that Pete recently slashed the company’s PTO policy and, except for sick days, denied workers PTO until they’ve been with the company for four years. 

Pete’s employees used to begin accruing PTO at three months, but “in the depth of the pandemic,” he says 

 So why not change the policy back now that the pandemic restrictions are over?

“COVID is gone, but it's got a long f***ing tail. I mean, you see it out here [downtown]. There's potentially the assumption that we're taking advantage of COVID or something by taking away benefits, but 

the fact is we need to stay in business.”

The truth is that the ingredients are the same, but the process is different. As 

 last July, Illegal Pete’s recently hired local food commissary Tico’s Mexican Foods to make big batches of queso that are then 

shipped to the various restaurants in bags and reheated

. Previously, everything was cooked in-house. Why the change? Pete says it was to address inconsistency across stores.

As for whether the quality of the queso is down, 

Pete told us customers generally seem to be satisfied

. Sales are steady after the change, but the negative feedback online still hurts. “I've had to do a lot of soul searching around all of that. Did we make that decision for the right reasons? And the answer is yes.”

One anonymous reddit user posted screenshots of texts that Pete apparently sent to the staff of the DU location after some personnel changes. The text reads: “This is 

 and what you can expect from me: hard work with a smile, open communication, […] and 

 in a business that serves an enthusiastic public.”

 “That's sort of my lesson coming out of COVID: ‘Holy f***, we made it.’ We should absolutely be grateful, like truly grateful. There are restaurants shuttering every single day. You're walking by 50 of them on the mall,” he said. “I feel like I don't need to defend myself, but the fact is, it is a good job.”

At the same time, Pete says that earlier this year he enrolled himself in Illegal Pete’s manager program. “Last year was a ton of work … and we didn’t deliver, not consistently,” Pete told us. “I think we're not terrible — but [terrible enough] to the point where I need to go back in [to the stores] and understand, 

are we the business that I set out to build 30 years ago?”

Hear the Whole Convo 🎧

Illegal Pete's CEO on Online Rumors, Nasty Allegations: "We're Certainly Not Perfect."

Neighborhood Guide

Denver is home to big and iconic museums like the Denver Art Museum, which recently 

merged with the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Arts

. But if you look around, there are a lot of small museums to enjoy. These are some of the best independent museums around Denver.

Black American West Museum & Heritage Center

Founded by Paul W. Stuart in 1971 after someone told him there was “no such thing as a Black cowboy,” this organization is focused on spotlighting the role of Black residents in western history.

Arguably the best place for diehard baseball fans in Denver to visit (since the Rockies have been struggling), this spot houses a collection recognized by Smithsonian Books as one of the best in the world. One of my favorites is a lightbulb from the very first game at Ebbets Field in 1938.

Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum

Whether you’re an aspiring pilot like me or you just want to learn more about aviation, this place offers more than 100,000 square-feet of iconic planes, military garb, and even space vehicles.

For a more broad study of transportation, explore the more than 800 artifacts at this museum. There are bikes, planes, locomotives, sleighs, and one of Amelia Earhart’s gorgeous cars.

Founded in 1991, this gem has rotating exhibitions from artists across Latin America and of Latin American descent. The small space punches well above its weight, often featuring art media beyond paintings and sculptures.

This one is a favorite of Westword editor-in-chief and longtime City Cast Denver guest Patricia Calhoun, and for good reason. It’s got wild west history, cowboy lore, and an Instagram-friendly fake horse.

Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys

The organization relocated to Lakewood in 2020 and is continuously making upgrades to its new home. I go for the miniatures alone, but there’s plenty of intrigue for kids, toy nerds, and perhaps folks that have not seen “The Conjuring” movie franchise.

I want to hear about all the cool museums I missed in this list.

What’s your favorite independent museum?

Denver is home to big and iconic museums like the Denver Art Museum, which recently merged with the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative...

Ilana: The Best Independent Museums Around Denver

Iframe Test

This wedding season, love is in the air. But most importantly, so is the scent of one of Pittsburgh’s most beloved traditions: wedding cookie tables. So, how did a delicious confection become a matrimonial custom?

Like many of humanity’s greatest creations, there isn’t much verifiable documentation of how cookie tables became a nuptial tradition. Our friend Rossilynne Skena Culgan — arts & culture editor at Time Out New York and former editor at recently defunct website The Incline 😢 — wrote that there are records of cookie tables popping up at social gatherings as early as the 1900s, though they were not documented at weddings until the 1990s. But if you’re old enough to remember “

” or tamagotchis, you know that wedding cookie tables have been around long before then.

The most popular theory is that European immigrants arriving in the 20th century had their family and friends bake cookies as a gesture of support and to save money on wedding cakes, particularly during the Great Depression. Regardless of the source, the tradition stuck. There’s even been (unsuccessful) proposals to designate 

This is obviously subjective, as you can tell from 

. Chocolate chip and Oreo-style cookies are always a hit, along with classics like lady locks and pizzelles, but there’s certainly room for creativity — that’s the best part of baking.

And for those of us with an ongoing feud with ovens, there’s a plethora of Pittsburgh bakeries that will do the work for you.

If you want to skip the baking (no judgment), the City Cast Pittsburgh team has 

recommendations for store-bought wedding cookies

, and how many you’re supposed to bring. Plus, some of our favorite at-home recipes, including the ones that, until recently, executive producer Mallory Falk colloquially called “boob cookies.”

 — they’ll come in handy sooner than you think.

Pittsburgh Cookie Table History, Etiquette, Recipes & More 🎧

An Ode to Pittsburgh’s Wedding Cookie Table Tradition

 Saturday, explore the North Side historic district that was transformed by Chinese immigrants as well as Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees in the ‘70s.

Anti-Asian hate crimes and pandemic business struggles prompted organizer Sany Nguyễn to co-found 

 in 2021, an initiative to encourage Chicagoans to support small businesses. She shared her recs along with City Cast Chicago executive producer and Uptown resident Simone Alicea.

🌏 A taste of history, cuisines on Argyle

 in Chicago’s Chinatown, which continues to grow while other cities’ shrink.

 spent a lot of time in the neighborhood growing up since both his parents worked there. He shares his fav spots.

Get to Know the Neighborhoods Hosting Chicago’s Lunar New Year Parades

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Madison's New Bars and Restaurants in January 2024

A short blurb about what this place is, offering, where it is, etc. One to two sentences. 

A short blurb about what this place is, offering, where it is, etc. One to two sentences. Related episode if relevant, with embed below. 

A short blurb about what this place is, offering, where it is, etc. One to two sentences.

Madison's New Bars and Restaurants in December 2023

Update the meta description each month with some names of the new places in town.

Madison, Wisconsin's Best New Restaurants and Bars

Madison's Best New Restaurants and Bars

It may be the middle of winter, but who says patio season is over? Thanks to creative social distancing solutions turned buzzy dining sensations, outdoor eating is a year-round event now, and Denver restaurants have really upped the ante. Covered patio, you say? How about fairy-light filled tents, private yurts, and heated bungalows? Here are our favorite winter patios in the city.

 is the restaurant’s crown jewel in the summer months — private, intimate, and brimming with fresh herbs and produce for the kitchen. But ever since the restaurant erected the roomy canvas tents out back to accommodate social distancing, the patio is the place to be even in cold weather months. Each tent is complete with gorgeous furnishings, a toasty fireplace, and its own four-course, Japanese-style tasting menu. For $185 per person, you can 

It doesn’t get more private and personal than 

’s miniature greenhouses fit for small groups of 2-4. Arranged spaciously under the restaurant’s towering namesake tree, you can dine beneath the stars in a 

cozy and secluded (and heated!) glass-paned hut

. To make it a truly personalized experience, each house is outfitted with a bluetooth speaker for you to plug into.

In true glamping fashion, when you dine in 

, you’ll forget you’re “outside” at all. Delivering warm alpine ski lodge vibes, this 30-foot-wide, insulated tent can host private parties of up to 16, or you can book a table for 5-8 if you don’t mind sharing the experience with others.

 turned a pandemic-era necessity into a can’t-miss dining experience with its mini 

. Outfitted with heat, air conditioning, romantic mood lighting, and a door that opens up to the restaurant’s dreamy Italian-inspired courtyard, these weather-proof dining quarters make for the perfect date-night getaway any time of year.

📧 Where’s Your Go-To Winter Patio?

It may be the middle of winter, but who says patio season is over? Thanks to creative social distancing solutions turned buzzy dining sensations, outdoor eating is a year-round event now, and Denver restaurants have really upped the ante.

Denver’s Coziest ‘Outdoor’ Dining

Since thousands of new, bright-eyed baby Badgers are currently preparing to 

descend upon the isthmus for move-in week

, now seemed like the perfect time to get to know the campus neighborhood a little better.

As an alumna of UW-Madison, I’d like to think I know the area pretty well. But times have changed in the more-than-a-few years since I’ve graduated. So to get a true insider’s look at the area, I caught up with Drake White-Bergey and Tyler Katzenberger, who are current UW-Madison’s students and the top editors at The Daily Cardinal.

If you want a good place to study, check out the School of Human Ecology! It's a really pretty building with plenty of cozy spots to get work done, plus it has an outdoor patio.

If you don't want to hit the books but instead are looking for an underrated drinks spot, check out The Library Bar. We recommend trivia nights on Tuesdays!

And if you need to just get outside and soak up some sun, hit up 

 It's a little off campus just south of Regent Street, but it's a nice spot to play sand volleyball or throw a blanket down and enjoy a good book.

Locally-owned places have the best food on State Street. Check out Mediterranean Cafe, Ruyi Hand Pulled Noodle, Ramen Kid, Chen's Dumpling House, and Paul's Pel'meni.

If you're on the west side of campus, waffles from Indie Coffee are perfect for breakfast and QQs is the way to go for dinner.

For drinks, nothing beats Plaza's atmosphere. It's a Madison icon and the spwan point for every main character on campus, plus it's queer-friendly and the drinks are cheap.

Otherwise, UU has $5 top shelf drinks and free pizza if you're there at the right time on Thursdays, and Leopold's on Regent Street offers fancy drinks at affordable prices with a side of smooth jazz. It's practically a modern speakeasy.

See a show! University Theater puts on multiple student productions each season, and Hamel Music Center hosts concerts throughout the year showcasing student musicians. Shannon Hall also hosts plenty of iconic speakers and performers throughout the semester

Also, you can always pick up a copy of The Daily Cardinal to keep up with what's new on campus.

Campus Neighborhood Guide

Sellwood-Moreland is known as one of the most family-friendly and 

 neighborhoods in the city — and is home to one of the oldest, continually operating amusement parks in the country, 

. (Technically the area is two neighborhoods isolated away from the rest of Portland by 99/SE McLoughlin, with Milwaukie to the south and Brooklyn the north. Often overlooked, the business districts of SE Milwaukie and SE Bybee are technically West Moreland. But for the most part they function together, including in their neighborhood association.) The area was built on the land of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla tribes, but was named after an early English settler — an Episcopal minister named John Sellwood — who claimed the land in the 1800s as an independent, rival city to neighboring Portland.

 is a top-rated food cart offering Mexican-inspired fare using traditional Pacific Northwest ingredients and flavors. Tacos range from al pastor, to fried to chicken, to beet and avocado.

 is a pre-Prohibition-era-themed speakeasy located inside a home built in 1922 and filled with antiques. Their website reads “PRAISE THE LORD & PASS THE BOOZE.”

Sellwood-Moreland is known for its antique shops. 

 has been around since 1967 and features items spanning centuries of world history.

 is a long-standing independent bookstore located in a 1930s house in the heart of Sellwood-Moreland featuring new, used, and vintage books on floor-to-ceiling shelves.

 is a single-screen 675-seat cinema built in 1926 offering showings for $8 a person before 6 pm.

 is a cozy board game, puzzle, and card game shop where you can try out games in-store or rent them for at-home play. They also have gaming events to join throughout the year.


City Cast Portland audio producer Giulia Fiaoni contributed today’s neighborhood guide.

Sellwood-Moreland is known as one of the most family-friendly and walkable neighborhoods in the city — and is home to one of the oldest, continually operating amusement parks in the country, Oaks Park.

Neighborhood Guide

Illegal Pete's CEO on Online Rumors, Nasty Allegations: "We're Certainly Not Perfect."

Ilana: The Best Independent Museums Around Denver

Iframe Test

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