Bears left tackle Jason Peters had Trey Hendrickson blocked Sunday afternoon. Then rookie quarterback Justin Fields, rather than pushing up in the pocket on third-and-8 halfway through the third quarter, decided to scramble right. When he stepped backward to plant his foot and run, Fields went right into the Bengals defensive end’s grasp — and fumbled.

Had Andy Dalton been in the game, Peters said Tuesday, he probably would have stepped up in the pocket. Fields, one of the fastest quarterbacks on the planet, had different ideas.

“I’ve just got to adjust,” Peters said.

The Bears have all week to. Though coach Matt Nagy tried to obfuscate the question Monday in the name of a perceived competitive advantage, Fields seems primed to make his first NFL start Sunday in Cleveland after Dalton suffered a bone bruise to his left knee. Presuming Fields does, Peters will change the way he operates.

“Yeah, I’m definitely going to work on that all week, just kicking more and getting more depth,” he said. “That way when [Fields] bails out of the pocket he’s got a clean pocket.”

Peters, 39, has played with someone like that before — Michael Vick, the most explosive running quarterback of his era, was his Eagles teammate from 2009-13.

“Well guys like Justin and Mike, those kind of guys that can use their feet, they’re always going to try to make a play … ” he said. “So those kinds of guys are scary. They’re definitely similar [in terms of] arm strength and mobility.”

Fields’ teammates are confident in the first-round pick after he showed flashes of excellence in training camp games and throughout the first two weeks of regular season practices.

Playing alongside him will take some adjusting — but it’s a change his probably won’t make again. Once Fields starts, he figures to be cemented in the spot as long as he’s healthy. To do anything different would stunt the first-round pick’s growth — or be an admission of a plan gone awry.

But first, Fields needs to work with the starters this week.

“We just have to capitalize on our opportunities that we have, to get extra throws,” receiver Allen Robinson said. “And try to make sure we crossing all of our T’s and dot all of our I’s when it comes to the things we want to accomplish as far as certain ball placement throws, where I need to be at, where someone wants me to be at.”

The extra throws, Robinson said, will come “after practice, in between practices, in the middle of practice” after starters spent the first two weeks of the season playing alongside Dalton.

Robinson didn’t use that as an excuse for dropping what would have been a 35-yard touchdown pass from Fields in the fourth quarter against the Bengals. He’s been impressed thus far with the rookie.

“Obviously he can make plays,” Robinson said. “And then just his competitive nature, I didn’t think he was surprised by anything. He looked comfortable out there. …

“I think he’ll be fine. He’s played a ton of big games in his college career. He’s the person who I feel the bigger lights, the guys like him step up and play their best at that moment.”

Fields has wowed his teammates in quiet moments, too, as the scout team quarterback mimicking that week’s opponent against the starting defense.

“One thing I noticed just with him being on the scout team, he can put the ball on a dime,” defensive lineman Bilal Nichols said. “Some of the windows that he squeezes the ball into, his accuracy throwing on the run is, like, incredible. He shows a lot of talent in his arm strength and just his accuracy, also along with his athletic ability.

“So he’s a tremendous player. He’s got a lot of upside. He’s definitely going to be a dude in this league. And I’m excited for him, you know, and I feel like, with him, we’ll be in good hands.”

Read More

Fishing for salmon and trout on the shoreline and in the tributaries of southern Lake Michigan again lead this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report; but there is also the waiting for the real fall feed bag to set up on inland waters, something that might start happening in earnest this week.

Patti Stone emailed:

I’m a former Chicagoan who has recently retired to the Northwoods in Birchwood, WI. Caught this beauty on Big Lake Chetak on a slip bobber and a crawler and very light tackle in the middle of the day. The minute this fish broke water I knew I was in for a fight! Had time to weigh this fish in at 4.7 lbs before releasing. The fishing this year has been off up here, but this catch made up for all the times we got skunked!

Patti Stone

Birchwood, BTW, bills itself as “Bluegill Capital of Wisconsin.”

SHORELINE SALMON/TROUT

I’ve heard of numerous first Chinook this fall for some reason. My favorite so far, beside the FOTW, is the guy on Thursday who posted on Facebook about catching his first Chinook and added, “Shoutout to a stranger named Quinn who helped net him.” I guessed from the spot on the lakefront that it was Quinn Voss. He tweeted Friday, “Indeed it was.”

Also on Friday, BoRabb Williams texted about Jackson Park, “I’m there 3times a week. . . . none yet [myself] but many fish are being caught.”

Brian Caunter at Henry’s Sports and Bait said on Tuesday some salmon reports around the lakefront, including some smaller ones at Montrose.

On Tuesday, Stacey Greene at Park Bait at Montrose Harbor texted:

Chinook fishing is still pretty steady up and down the lakefront. Mostly in the dark but there have been a few caught in the daylight hours. Glow in the dark spoons and crankbaits are working best. Best spoons to use Moonshines, KO Wobblers and Little Cleos. Best crankbaits are Livingstons, Thundersticks and Flickr Shads. Personally haven’t seen or heard of any trout being caught yet but they should be starting any time soon. Trout can be caught by casting spoons also but mostly caught under a slip bobber with spawn sacs, larger minnows such as a medium shiner (golden roach) nightcrawlers and even shrimp. . . . Have a great week!

WAUKEGAN: Capt. Dan Leslie at the Salmon Stop in Waukegan said it’s been slow around the harbor with warmth and no west winds, what is being caught is early mornings on spoons; some starting to use crawlers and spawn 5 feet down on bobber.

Capt. Scott Wolfe of School of Fish Charters emailed:

. . .

Kings and coho are in the harbor. When the water is cool they are active. When hot water moves in they will be inactive. Flicker shads have been the best lures so far. The skein bite should be starting this week.

. . .

Capt. Scott Wolfe
School of Fish Charters/Manipulator
schooloffishcharters.com
630-341-0550

NORTHWEST INDIANA: Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station texted:

With the cool weather and rain coming this week it will help push what salmon we do have up in the tributaries. Casting spinners or using spawn sacks is best.

SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN: Winds and waves shut down boat and pier effort Tuesday.

MILWAUKEE: Arden Katz said they were doing OK for Chinook in the harbor, but you had to work for them. He was using a 3/4-ounce blue and silver Rat-L-Traps; kayakers were catching them with No. 9 Flicker Shads. “They are in the harbor and not real dark yet. They are in good shape.”

LAKEFRONT PARKING

Chicago Park District’s parking passes for the fisherman’s parking lots at DuSable and Burnham harbors are on sale at Henry’s Sports and Bait in Bridgeport and Park Bait at Montrose Harbor.

Readers suggest SpotHero app downtown. Otherwise, here are some basics: Foster (free street parking or pay lot); Montrose (now a mix of metered and free street parking); Belmont (pay lots on north and south sides); Diversey (pay lot or street parking); DuSable Harbor (pay lot or fisherman’s lot); Northerly Island/Burnham Harbor (meters, pay lot or fisherman’s lot); 31st/Burnham (meter parking between McCormick Place and 31st Street Harbor); Oakwood/39th (meters); 63rd Street/Casino Pier (pay lot); Steelworkers Park (free street parking at east end of 87th); Cal Park (free parking).

AREA LAKES

Dicky’s Bait Shop in Montgomery reported Big Rock Quarry had some good on bass on shiners and minnows deep as 30-35 but they are rising with cooler temperatures.

Ken “Husker” O’Malley with a nice local largemouth bass.Provided

Ken “Husker” O’Malley emailed the photos above and below, and this:

Hey Dale,

Here is a recap of this weeks fishing.

Area lakes-with the warming water temps and low water conditions, fishing has been a grind. Early morning hours have been the best times.

Bass have been buried in heavy weed mats. Best bait has been texas rigged powerbait worms. Use a heavy enough weight to punch through the weeds. Patience is needed as this is not a numbers game, but will be rewarded with some larger fish.

. . .

Here is the nature pic of the week[below]. Change is coming. Photo courtesy of TJ O’Malley.

TTYL

—

Ken “Husker” O’Malley
Husker Outdoors
Waterwerks fishing team

A fall scene in 2021.TJ O’Malley

Pete Lamar emailed:

I’ll give you the still water report for this week (I’m going to fish a Fox trib this evening-let’s see if the rain materializes and if it does any good). I did much better on small ponds than bigger water. Bluegills were hitting aggressively on and near the surface. All sizes too, everything from bass bait up to hand-sized. Things were much tougher for me on the local lake. There are very few openings in the shoreline vegetation big enough to drop a fly into. All I got were some small bass. Fishing from a boat or float tube and casting in towards the outside edge of the weeds might have been much more productive.

Pete

BRAIDWOOD LAKE

Open daily 6 a.m. to sunset.

CHAIN O’LAKES AREA

Art Frisell at Triangle Sports and Marine in Antioch said bluegill are good in 8-12 on waxies and chartreuse jigs; for crappie, try Mini-Mites or Rat Finkees with small minnows or spikes; walleye are fair, try around current or troll crankbaits on the main lake flats; catfish are fair on crawlers or roaches.

NOTE: Check updates on water conditions at foxwaterway.com or (847) 587-8540.

NOTE 2: The Stratton Lock and Dam is open 8 a.m. to midnight through Sept. 30.

CHICAGO RIVER

Jeffrey Williams with a rare summer perch from the Chicago River.Provided

Jeffrey Williams messaged on Sunday the photo above from the river. That is a more common sight in winter, rare in the heat of September. When he caught another, he noted it was a good sign. I agree.

He added:

yeah caught 2, 11 and 10 in

Brian Caunter at Henry’s Sports and Bait said some white bass are being caught downtown, too.

DOWNSTATE

POWERTON: Hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Sept. 30.

EMIQUON: Access permits and liability waivers are again required. They are available Tuesday to Saturday at Dickson Mounts Museum, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

HENNEPIN-HOPPER: Closed for the season. Check regulations at http://www.wetlands-initiative.org/dixon-paddling-fishing.

SHELBYVILLE: Check with Ken Wilson of Lithia Guide Service. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: Check with Jason Johns of Boneyard Fishing.

FOX RIVER

Scott Oglanian with one of the many smallmouth he caught this summer from the Fox River.Provided

Scott Oglanian messaged the above photo, one of many, from the Fox over the summer.

He later messaged:

4.6lbs is the biggest one I’ve caught this summer

Dicky’s Bait Shop in Montgomery reported rain helped a bit with water levels; a 44-inch muskie caught on a spinner while bass fishing; otherwise catfish up and down the river, live suckers or cutbait.

Pete Lamar emailed Tuesday:

Hi Dale,

We did get rain yesterday afternoon. Just not enough to change conditions at all. The Fox above a dam was barely moving (there was flow over the weekend for a while after some rain to the north of us). The creek I fished was low, clear and cold thanks to the groundwater flow. I lost count of how many smallmouths I caught; not one threatened the 10-inch mark. But they did behave the same as their older and larger relatives: they were chasing minnows into shallow water and against barriers and then attacking aggressively. I hooked what turned out to be a chub in some slack water, Immediately it got very heavy and I couldn’t control him at all. I reeled up the slack in order to let the drag do its work and prepared for a long battle. Something much bigger had grabbed the chub. It let go after a moment and I landed the chub. He didn’t have any teeth marks on him, so I don’t think it was a pike or muskie. All I can think of in that stretch of water was maybe a big smallmouth or a channel cat.

I love the mystery of unseen big fish.

GREEN LAKE AREA, WISCONSIN

Tyler Uteg with a smallmouth bass caught along a weed edge on a tube.Provided by Mike Norris

Guide Mike Norris emailed this:

Mike Norris

Big Green Lake – Water temp. has dropped to 67 degrees and both smallmouth and largemouth bass remain active out on weed edges. Drop shot rigs or tubes are good choices. It took 19.06 lbs. to win a bass tournament on Big Green last Sunday. Bluegills remain excellent outside of weed edges and around cribs. Vertical jig with a drop shot rig with a small hook and half of a redworm. Lake trout moving shallower and can be caught vertical jigging with three-quarter oz. Northland Rattle Spoons. Late trout fishing closes September 30th and doesn’t reopen until January 1st.

Fox Lake – Largemouth bass fishing is good. Water temp cooling down 8 to 10 degrees and fish are starting to feed regularly. Try pitching Bitsy Bug jigs tipped with imitation crawfish up against shoreline rock piles. Senko’s remain a good second choice.

To book a guide trip reach out to me via my Facebook page at mike.norris.7773 or email me through my website at www.comecatchsmallmouth.com

GREEN/STURGEON BAYS, WISCONSIN

Click here for the Wisconsin DNR weekly report.

HEIDECKE LAKE

Open 6 a.m. (6:30 bank fishing) to sunset.

KANKAKEE RIVER

George Peters with a 19-inch smallmouth bass from the Kankakee River.Provided

George Peters emailed the photo above, one of three big smallmouth, and this on Monday:

Hi Dale , kkk very low still warm. Many baits working.

Ken “Husker” O’Malley echoed something similar below:

Hey Dale,

Here is a recap of this weeks fishing.

. . .

Kankakee-wading conditions are back to being excellent again. Water temps however are back up to near 80. Summer patterns continue to work. Focus on faster moving water and current seams. Crankbaits in craw patters have been the best bait for smallmouth.

. . .

TTYL

—

Ken “Husker” O’Malley
Husker Outdoors
Waterwerks fishing team

Bob Johnson emailed the photo below and this:

Hi Dale – The river pool is in good shape and rains on Tuesday should not change much, a small stain added. Temps rose to 74. Fish are in pools scattered throughout river. Any bottom structure should hold bass. I used small finesse baits in dark color and managed a few,

Bob Johnson with some nice Kankakee River smallmouth bass.Provided

LAKE ERIE

Click here for the Ohio DNR Report.

LAKEFRONT

NOTE: Salmon snagging is not open.

Brian Caunter at Henry’s Sports and Bait said some salmon reports, including some smaller ones at Montrose; some largemouth and smallmouth at harbor mouths on bladebaits.

Stacey Greene at Park Bait at Montrose Harbor texted:

Chinook fishing is still pretty steady up and down the lakefront. Mostly in the dark but there have been a few caught in the daylight hours. Glow in the dark spoons and crankbaits are working best. Best spoons to use Moonshines, KO Wobblers and Little Cleos. Best crankbaits are Livingstons, Thundersticks and Flickr Shads. Personally haven’t seen or heard of any trout being caught yet but they should be starting any time soon. Trout can be caught by casting spoons also but mostly caught under a slip bobber with spawn sacs, larger minnows such as a medium shiner (golden roach) nightcrawlers and even shrimp. There has been a few nice Northern caught while people were casting for the salmon.There are still some nice small mouth being caught here and there also.Have a great week!

Capt. Bob Poteshman of Confusion Charters said out of Chicago more smaller kings and coho are mixed with steelhead and lakers in 100-140, it’s pretty good, mornings better; out of North Point, fishing off shore in 160-250 for a mixed bag of lakers and steelhead with some smaller kings and coho, too, reefs are becoming active for lakers, normal for this time of year.

Capt. Scott Wolfe of School of Fish Charters emailed:

The offshore lake trout fishing was fantastic with limit catches every trip. 110-140 feet using smoke or silver Luhr-Jensen Dodgers and Jimmy Fly Laker Takers near the bottom, orange and Yellow Mo rigs were the best. 300 coppers with Magnum Warrior Spoons in purple and blue patterns like Voodoo, Blue Dolphin and Blue/Yellow Dolphin took lakers and smaller salmon, both Chinook and Coho.

Steelhead and smaller salmon were there. Smaller spoons run 50 to 65 down in 80 to 120 feet was productive. Warrior XL Fin Girl and Jamaican Sunrise were the best lures run off downriggers.

Kings and coho are in the harbor. When the water is cool they are active. When hot water moves in they will be inactive. Flicker shads have been the best lures so far. The skein bite should be starting this week.

Please remember safety first. It looks like 8 foot waives multiple days this week. The water is still higher than normal and people need to be careful.

Capt. Scott Wolfe

School of Fish Charters/Manipulator
schooloffishcharters.com
630-341-0550

That’s sound advice for both boaters and those harbor fishing.

LaSALLE LAKE

Open daily 6 a.m. to sunset.

MADISON LAKES, WISCONSIN

Click here for the update from D&S Bait.

MAZONIA

Both units are open for fishing.

MINNESOTA

Justin Lederer with a smallmouth bass from Mille Lacs.Provided by McQuoid’s Inn

Justin Lederer emailed the photo above and this from McQuoid’s Inn in Isle, Minn.:

Justin Lederer checking in from McQuoids Inn Lake Mille Lacs. The fall bite is one for the smallmouth picked up this football in 7′ of water dragging suckers on a swim bait jig. Been producing good fish in 5-18 foot of water around the reefs and big boulders. Walleye are also in shallow getting reports of guys catching the in 5-15 feet trolling shad raps.

NORTHERN WISCONSIN

Kurt Justice at Kurt’s Island Sport Shop in Minocqua emailed:

Things slowly moving into a good fall pattern. With temps this past week swinging wildly from lows of 36 degrees to highs of 84 degrees and water temps fluctuating from low to upper 60’s had things a little mixed up, plus lots of wind!

Largemouth Bass: Good-Very Good – Not the easiest of conditions, yet anglers fishing weeds of 8-12′ did well using Wacky Worms and drop-shot rigs. Large suckers working for the live bait anglers.

Northern Pike: Good-Very Good – Jigging chubs and suckers in the 3-5′ range where ever green weeds of 4-10′ could be found. Casting weedless spoons (Jawbreakers, Silver Minnows) and spinner baits also good.

Smallmouth Bass: Good-Very Good – Numbers found on gravel humps or along coontail edges using drop-shot rigs or Ned rigs. Big Bass have been very shallow! These big fish found along inside weed lines taking top-water (Whopper Ploppers) or tubes on light jig heads (1/16 – 1/8 oz). Big 19-22″+ fish being reported.

Crappie: Good – Starting to group up on certain waters. Look for deeper clusters of wood or outside of 14-18′ coontail. Use slip floats to suspend bait 2-4′ off bottom.

Musky: Good-Fair – Heat over weekend seemed to slow things. Top-water best during low light levels. Bucktails and swim baits over top of deeper weeds. Live suckers on bladed rigs having some success with all the wind of late.

Walleye: Fair-Good – Action starting to pick up on traditional fall locations as anglers fishing deep gravel/mud flat edges picking up fish on jig/minnow and Lindy rigs. Wind blown shorelines are giving anglers some success on scattered Walleyes feeding on young Perch.

Yellow Perch: Fair – Few targeting, but nice Perch (10″+) being caught by anglers fishing Walleyes in shallows on 1/16 oz jigs and large fatheads.

Bluegill: Fair – Some big Gills as incidental catches fishing Crappies, but few anglers targeting in wind.

This coming week looks to be more favorable as temps unlikely to crest mid 60’s until Sunday and night time lows in 40’s should get surface temps to hold in low 60’s. These next two to three weeks should be prime for fish activity and provide lots of opportunities for anglers targeting all their favorites.

Kurt Justice

Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
Like us on Facebook

NORTHWEST INDIANA

Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station texted:

With the cool weather and rain coming this week it will help push what salmon we do have up in the tributaries. Casting spinners or using spawn sacks is best.

Crappie bite will continue to get better with the water cooling down fish lake George in Hobart with crappie minnows at evening time around the bridges.

Catfish bite at rosser lake has been good on triple s catfish bait lots of action.

Perch fishing is very quiet. Not much going on.

Christina Petrites at Stan’s Bait & Tackle Center in Hammond emailed:

Hi, Dale. All ready for the upcoming Fall season that starts this week?! I know I am welcoming that cooler weather and can’t wait to begin putting up those spooky Halloween decorations…here’s what we’ve heard is going on in the fishing world…

Trolling on Lake Michigan the past week, when the weather conditions were fair, (i.e., not windy & calm waters) anglers were picking up some Salmon & Steelhead in 100-150 FOW. Green & orange spoons are currently working best.

Perch fishing remains good in 60 FOW.Beemoths, rosy reds, & red worms are working exceptionally well.

River fishermen are still catching a few Walleye (leeches & walleye spinners having recent success), & A LOT of Smallmouth Bass (Senko Worms & golden roaches working very well) & Catfish (Sonny’s, Skipjack, & hornworms baits of choice).

Inland lakes are producing some nice catches of bluegill, mostly on smaller leeches, worms, & beemoths.

ROOT RIVER, WISCONSIN

Click here for the Wisconsin DNR’s report, usually on Tuesday or Wednesday.

SHABBONA LAKE

Hope is cooler temperatures will increase effort and success.

Concessions are going. Site hours through Oct. 31 are 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily

SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN LAKEFRONT

Click here for the southern Lake Michigan reports from the Wisconsin DNR.

SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN

Staff at Tackle Haven in Benton Harbor said perch were caught in 60 feet over the weekend, but winds stopped pier and boat fishing. Some silver fish are going through the Berrien Springs ladder. Paddle and Pole hosts the Berrien Springs Fish Ladder Camera.

WISCONSIN DELLS

Hook-and-line sturgeon season in Wisconsin runs through Sept. 30. Click here for the details. Click here for the harvest areas. River’s Edge said decent sturgeon are being caught, but no keepers are registered so far; otherwise, there’s decent smallmouth, smaller walleye and white bass; river is down some.

WOLF RIVER

Guide Bill Stoeger in Fremont texted:

Crappie action is picking up. Some walleye and white bass are coming in. Water temp is 67 degrees and should be dropping with nights in the 40’s in the forecast

Read More

OAKLAND, Calif. — For some Asian Americans, the dim sum cookie at Sunday Bakeshop here will taste like childhood.

It looks like a typical sugar cookie except with sesame seeds on top. But bite into the creamy, red bean center and it’s reminiscent of the fried, filled sesame balls served at a Chinese dim sum restaurant.

The concoction is pastry chef Elaine Lau’s nod to her grandmother, who would often make them. The baked goods that Lau’s team churns out — like hojicha chocolate croissants and Chinese White Rabbit candy cookies — aren’t going to be found in any bakery in Asia. There’s an intrinsic American sensibility at the nearly 3-month-old shop.

“Talking to some of the Asian Americans and other people that have tried some of our pastries, we get a lot of comments where they’re just like… ‘Oh this took me back several years,’ when they were growing up,” said Lau, 35, who was born in Oakland.

This photo provided by Rose Ave Bakery shows the Washington, D.C. bakery’s ube cake. AP

“For us, it’s kind of nice we can evoke some positive memories and feelings with our pastries.”

From ube cakes to mochi muffins, bakeries that sweetly encapsulate growing up Asian and American have been popping up more in recent years. Their confections are a delectable vehicle for young and intrepid Asian Americans to celebrate their dual identity.

Ingredients they found embarrassing as children are being blended with European or “traditional” American pastries into something new. Some of the bakers welcome the chance to dispel culinary and societal misconceptions, especially given months of anti-Asian hate.

The experience of being an immigrant kid in between two very different cultures is what inspired the name and concept behind Third Culture Bakery, a few miles away from Sunday Bakeshop, in Berkeley. Open since 2018, it’s the brainchild of husbands Wenter Shyu, 31, and Sam Butarbutar, 32. Nine months into their courtship, they decided to open a bakery together and expand Butarbutar’s mochi muffin business beyond wholesale and pop-ups. The mochi muffin, still a signature item, is influenced by Butarbutar’s Indonesian roots and made with California-grown mochiko rice flour.

Strawberry Pocky Cruffins are displayed on a tray at the Sunday Bakeshop in Oakland, California.AP

The operation has blossomed, with two locations in Colorado and a second San Francisco Bay Area store planned. Their menu includes mochi brownies and butter mochi doughnuts with glazes like matcha, ube and black sesame.

Shyu said many non-Asian patrons have never been exposed to some of the ingredients.

“It’s a lot of educating. Even when you educate and share where it comes from, people are judging it. It’s a very mixed bag. It’s also very rewarding because then you get to see their reaction trying this new thing they’ve never had in their life,” he said.

Shyu recalls some awkward situations, such as one in May when Third Culture was featured on a Denver TV station as part of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The finished segment included “Oriental music” that Shyu, who was born in Taiwan, described as “cringe-y and uncomfortable.”

“I told the news station, if you guys did a piece on Black History Month and added tribal African music, there would be an outrage,” Shyu said. “Somehow for Asian Americans, that’s OK. That’s the exact thing we’re trying to fight against.”

For these bakeries, integrating Asian flavor profiles isn’t a gimmick. It’s what feels natural and authentic, said Deuki Hong, 31, whose Sunday Family Hospitality Group launched Sunday Bakeshop, and who loves Lau’s outside-the-pastry-box thinking.

“When I was running a Korean barbecue, we were known also for corn cheese, a little melty side dish… She took that and was like, ‘I’m gonna make a pastry out of it,'” said Hong, co-author of “Koreatown: A Cookbook.” “Wow, this came from our conversation that was very personal to me and it also tastes really delicious.”

A selection of assorted mochi muffins are photographed at the Third Culture Bakery in Berkeley, California. These confections are a delectable vehicle for young and intrepid Asian Americans to celebrate their dual identity. AP

Rose Nguyen, a 34-year-old former nurse, switched careers and opened Rose Ave Bakery inside The Block Foodhall in Washington, D.C., in March 2020, just before a pandemic shutdown. Nguyen was peddling Instagrammable morsels like strawberry lychee rose donuts, ube cake and matcha chocolate cookies. She won over enough foodies to keep going with online orders until fully reopening this June.

Born in Rhode Island to Vietnamese immigrants, Nguyen said it sometimes hurt when, growing up, her white friends thought her food from home was weird or gross. So, it’s gratifying now to showcase Asian flavors unapologetically.

“It was never about trends or satisfying other people,” Nguyen said. “It’s just me, basically. The business goes hand in hand with who I am.”

As fixtures in their neighborhoods, these bakery owners all felt compelled to do something when racist attacks against Asians tied to the COVID-19 pandemic started. Third Culture Bakery raised donations at its locations to pay for and distribute 21,000 safety kits for Asian seniors. Sunday Bakeshop and Rose Ave Bakery have donated pastries and profits to anti-Asian hate organizations.

The bakers felt a disconnect between that hatred and the joyful connection that their food can make across cultures.

“It’s so unfortunate that it’s happening, and still happening, because people say they love Asian food and Asian American food,” Nguyen said. “Yet, they don’t even realize you love the food and don’t love the people.”

Older, traditional Asian bakeries started out as a means of replicating something immigrants missed back in their home country. The new bakeries’ bolder assertion of identity is a natural evolution, said Robert Ji-Song Ku, an Asian American studies professor at Binghamton University and author of “Dubious Gastronomy: The Cultural Politics of Eating Asian in the USA.”

Chefs like Roy Choi and David Chang came to fame in the early 2000s embracing their Korean heritage. But the baking world is still “a real frontier,” Ku said.

“It goes against stereotypes of Asians as math geeks. It’s sort of the artistic side of Asian American identity that’s often ignored,” Ku said. “They’re instead really trying to fuse things together — create this mixture.”

These first- and second-generation Asian American bakery owners seem passionate about bringing visibility to the Asian American community, which often feels invisible, Ku added.

They’re showing that an ube snickerdoodle or a black sesame muffin is as American as any apple pie.

“There’s nothing wrong with apple pie,” Hong said. “But there’s a lot more interesting things being done… there’s a lot of Asian creators and entrepreneurs, and gradually they’ll be more vocal.”

Read More

Read More

They’ll never learn.

In thriller after thriller after thriller, the story opens as the main characters begin a new chapter in their lives by moving into an expansive, Insta-worthy, remote home in the woods or along the beach or nestled into an area that’s so isolated we never even see the hint of a neighbor. Things will be different and better here!

Oh great. Let’s cue the driving rainstorms and the power outages and the mysterious sounds in the middle of the night — and the next thing you know it, this so-called paradise has turned into … A HOUSE OF HORROR!

Mining similar territory seen in recent releases such as “The Rental” and “Four Kids and It” and “You Should Have Left” and “Becky” and “Fatale,” the Netflix original movie “Intrusion” is a derivative, manipulative, convoluted and dopey story that dishes up one scary movie cliche after another before careening out of control with a late plot development so insanely implausible, so far out of left field, it’s as if someone accidentally deleted 20 pages of the script during production and nobody noticed.

The only bright spot in an otherwise dismal picture is Freida Pinto’s game and sincere performance as Meera, a cancer survivor and therapist who has moved across the country with her attentive and caring architect husband Henry (Logan Marshall-Green), leaving Boston behind for the slower, more relaxed and comforting atmosphere of a quiet town with little noise or crime. Henry actually designed and built the home himself, and it’s a massive, stone-and-glass, cold and imposing structure. Come on, Henry, read the room, so to speak. Throw in some comfy pillows and some cozy nooks and crannies man!

We know Henry might be a little tightly wound because he buttons his shirts all the way to the top, has oddly slicked back hair and wears glasses from the Guy Pearce School of Optometry. Still, he’s always telling Meera she’s beautiful and he loves her, and he’ll do anything for her, even though it’s a shame they can’t have children and it’ll just be the two of them in that giant house forever.

That’s when the stuff starts to hit the fan. There’s not one, but two break-ins, with masked thugs ransacking the house in search of … something. On the second break-in, Meera is shocked to learn Henry has a gun, and he’s not hesitant to use it. Could it be there’s more to Henry than tender games of Scrabble and gentle kisses on the neck and reassurances he’ll always be there for Meera?

As Meera becomes the obligatory Citizen Private Detective investigating things that just don’t add up, “Intrusion” pummels us with cheap scares such as the loud music sting when a bad guy pops into the frame; the ferocious barking dog that appears out of nowhere, and the fumbling for the car keys as the bad guys are closing in. Things go from bad to awful in the final act, which will practically dare you to start musing, “I wonder what Netflix has for me in the ‘Because You Watched…’ section?”

Read More

The Fugees — Ms. Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel — have announced their reuniting for a world tour, which will include a Chicago stop this fall.

The international trek — their first live shows in 15 years and their first world tour in 25 years celebrates the 25th anniversary of the group’s chart-topping album “The Score,” and will arrive at the United Center on Nov. 2. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 24 at LiveNation.com.

A “secret” pop-up show set for Wednesday in New York City (location TBA) as part of Global Citizen Live (a day of unity across seven continents to be broadcast over 24 hours around the world on Apple Music, Apple TV App, YouTube and Twitter on Sept. 25) officially kicks off the tour, which then resumes in November with the Chicago show. Other cities on the schedule include Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, Paris, London, and stops in Nigeria and Ghana.

“The Fugees have a complex but impactful history…. I decided to honor this significant project, its anniversary, and the fans who appreciated the music by creating a peaceful platform where we could unite, perform the music we loved, and set an example of reconciliation for the world,” Hill said in Tuesday’s announcement.

On Tuesday, Ravinia Festival announced Hill had postponed her Sept. 25 concert at the Highland Park venue to 2022 to accommodate the tour dates. As a thank you to those who bought tickets to the Ravinia show, Hill announced a special presale for the Nov. 2 concert. Eligible ticketholders will receive details about the presale via email. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from the Nov. 2 show will benefit Ravinia’s ReachTeachPlay music education programs.

“The Score,” the trio’s second and final album that featured hits such as “Ready or Not” and Hill’s legendary reinvention of the Roberta Flack classic “Killing Me Softly,” was released in 1996. After a tumultuous run, the group parted ways in 2006.

“As I celebrate 25 years with the Fugees, my first memory was that we vowed, from the gate, we would not just do music, we would be a movement. We would be a voice for the un-heard, and in these challenging times, I am grateful once again, that God has brought us together,” Jean said via statement.

Read More

LOS ANGELES — A plaque and a palm tree weren’t enough to mark the swagger and star power of Burt Reynolds.

That’s why a bronze bust, mustachioed of course, and sporting his “Smokey and the Bandit” cowboy hat, were unveiled on Monday, three years after his death.

“Anybody else want to touch him?” Loni Anderson, Reynolds’ wife from 1988 to 1994, asked the small crowd that gathered around the sculpture after the unveiling at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.

“Yes, he’s made to be touched!” said Caroline P.M. Jones, the artist who made it.

A memorial sculpture of the late actor Burt Reynolds is pictured following its unveiling at a ceremony at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021, in Los Angeles. Reynolds died in 2018 at the age of 82.AP

Anderson and her son with Reynolds, Quinton, chose the spot where Reynolds’ cremated remains were laid to rest in February, because it was next to a palm tree and water, which evoked his native Florida. A simple plaque with his name marked the spot.

But Hollywood Forever co-owner Tyler Cassity told them that the many visitors to his grave would appreciate more of a monument, something to look at, to touch, to take photos with. So the bust was commissioned.

“It’s absolutely beautiful, it’s exactly what we both envisioned,” Quinton Reynolds told The Associated Press after a brief private ceremony where a crowd of several dozen people who were close to Reynolds gathered to mark the occasion.

Guests included actors Stefanie Powers and Ruta Lee.

Most gathered around the bust to get a close look and take pictures before heading to a screening of a new documentary, “I Am Burt Reynolds,” for a far bigger audience on a nearby cemetery lawn.

While the bust’s cowboy hat suggests a 1970s Reynolds, it’s designed to look like a more ageless version.

Sculptor Caroline P.M. Jones (center) poses with the late actor Burt Reynolds’ son Quinton and his former wife Loni Anderson during a ceremony to unveil her sculpture of Reynolds at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Monday.AP

“That was one of the things we talked about, do we do baby Burt, do we do middle-aged Burt, do we do ‘Smokey’ Burt?'” Anderson told The AP. “He’s worked in every decade, so which decade do we do?”

What they ended up with was “more of an interpretation of every decade,” she said.

Jones’ workspace during the process would make her look like the world’s biggest Reynolds fan.

“On one side of my studio I had photos of Burt from all eras,” the sculptor said.

There were many detailed discussions about things like the precise length of his mustache. Jones conceded that she really fell for him as she worked.

“He’s such a handsome chap, really, what a handsome man,” she said.

Anderson definitely wanted to get one thing right.

“He needs those great lips,” she said, “because I think everybody wants to kiss him.”

A college football standout at Florida State, Reynolds became one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and biggest sex symbols in the world in the 1970s and ’80s, known for his mustache, his cocky laugh and his maverick swagger. He starred in two “Smokey and the Bandit” films along with “Deliverance,” “Gator” and “Boogie Nights,” for which he was nominated for an Oscar.

He died at age 82 on Sept. 6, 2018, at a hospital in Jupiter, Florida. He was cremated a few days later. It is not clear why it took until earlier this year for his ashes to reach the Hollywood gravesite, his family has chosen to keep the details private, but the pandemic contributed to the delays.

Anderson and Quinton Reynolds spoke jointly at Monday night’s ceremony.

She opened by acknowledging that she wasn’t, in the eyes of many, the most likely person to be offering fond remembrances of Reynolds, given the sometimes rocky relationship that played out constantly in the tabloids.

“There’s nobody here that, unless you’re from another planet who doesn’t realize that we had a tumultuous 12 years together,” Anderson said, speaking with her son at her side. “But I just want to remember the good times. And there were a lot of them.”

Hollywood Forever, founded in 1899 and located near the Paramount Pictures lot, has in recent years become both a historical landmark, home to the graves of major stars including Judy Garland and Douglas Fairbanks, and a cultural hub, home to concerts and movie screenings.

Cassity told Reynolds’ family and friends at the ceremony that his grave is near those of the heartthrobs of two earlier eras of cinema, Tyrone Power and Rudolph Valentino.

“Please know that he’s in good company,” Cassity said.

Read More

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jack Coan admits it is going to be a little strange this Saturday when No. 12 Notre Dame takes on his old team, No. 18 Wisconsin, at Soldier Field.

“It’s definitely going to be weird,” the 22-year-old grad transfer quarterback said. “It’s going to be a lot of my friends I’m going to be playing against, guys I still talk to today. But at the end of the day, it’s just another football game and I like to think I won’t get more excited for one game than the next.”

Both his current coach, Brian Kelly, and his old coach, Paul Chryst, believe Coan will handle his emotions well.

“Jack is a competitor — he loved his time at Wisconsin,” Kelly said. “But it’s a new chapter for him. He’s very mature, level-headed. He wants to beat Wisconsin.”

Said Chryst: “Obviously we have respect for Jack and appreciate who he is as a person and player here. But it’s Wisconsin versus Notre Dame.”

And it’s a big game for both teams. The Badgers (1-1, 0-1 Big Ten) have one of the nation’s stingiest defenses but could use a Top 25 win after its season-opening loss at home to Penn State. The Fighting Irish, meanwhile, have won all three of their games but hardly in dominating fashion.

The 6-foot-3 1/4 , 223-pound Coan, a standout athlete at Sayville (New York) High School, turned down a lacrosse scholarship at Notre Dame to play quarterback at Wisconsin where in 25 games he completed nearly 68% of his passes for 3,278 yards and 23 touchdowns against eight interceptions and went 12-6 as a starter.

Prior to last season, Coan suffered a broken foot that required season-ending surgery. Wisconsin went 4-3 behind quarterback Graham Mertz and elected to go forward with him. So Coan entered the transfer portal after receiving his degree and moved to South Bend last January.

With Notre Dame replacing its all-time winningest quarterback Ian Book, Coan beat out sophomore Drew Pyne and freshman Tyler Buchner. Coan has competed nearly 63% of his passes for 828 yards and eight touchdowns, with four of those coming in an overtime win at Florida State.

Two weeks ago, Coan drove the Irish 75 yards in 26 seconds and threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Michael Mayer with a dislocated middle finger on his throwing hand to beat Toledo. Last week, he overcame a sluggish start to finish 15-of-31 passing for 223 yards and two TDs against Purdue.

There have been some down moments as well. Coan has turned the ball over three times, including two interceptions, and he has been sacked 14 times behind Notre Dame’s rebuilding offensive line – an ominous sign against the fearsome Wisconsin defense. Coan has shared some playing time the last two games with the more mobile Buchner.

“I think my timing was off a little bit (against Purdue) and I need to be a little more accurate,” said Coan, who will be facing a Badgers defense that is first nationally against the run (33 yards allowed per game) and second in total defense (194.5 yards). “I can do my part getting the ball out of my hand and communicating better.”

Coan planned to talk with former teammates this week but figuring out ways to move the ball and score on Wisconsin is the top priority.

“To be honest they do everything well on defense,” he said. “In my four years there it felt like whenever the offense gave up the ball, the defense was there getting a stop. It’s been one of the best defenses in the country. (Defensive coordinator Jim) Leonhard does an amazing job with them. It will be a huge challenge for us. I went against the defense in practice for four years, so I know what they like to do.”

Leonhard always considered Coan a quick learner.

“He was a guy who could see it on tape; he was a guy who could talk it and then (go) apply it on the field,” Leonhard said. “And that’s what I see (from Coan at Notre Dame). He’s just got to have one bad game this year. Outside of that, I wish him the best.”

Read More

FULLERTON, Calif. — Jo Lasorda, the widow of Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, has died. She was 91.

She died Monday night at her home in Fullerton, the team said Tuesday. No cause of death was given.

The former Joan Miller met Tommy Lasorda at a minor league baseball game in her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina, where he was playing for the Spinners. They wed on April 14, 1950, a union that lasted 70 years until Tommy’s death last January at age 93.

Lasorda is survived by daughter Laura and granddaughter Emily, as well as sister Gladys Reeves of Greenville. She was preceded in death by son Tom Jr.

Read More

Read More