Spotlight on... arts

Restaurant review Grasshopper Local chef Charlie Deal is in the process of opening three highly anticipated restaurants in the Triangle, the first of which is the Asian-fusion Grasshopper. Located on the northwest corner of 9th Street and Hillsborough Road, a location better known for the reliable French-bistro fare of Vin Rouge, Grasshopper has been garnering attention of its own for Deals’ innovative culinary offerings. Offering updated Chinese and Vietnamese dishes, with a pan-Asian twist, Grasshopper’s light cuisine is a welcome addition to the local restaurant scene. In contrast to traditional family-style Asian dining, Grasshopper’s menu offers small plates and encourages patrons to indulge in a tapas-like experience. Particularly enjoyable is a seafood red curry with rice vermicelli noodles. The assortment of seafood included sea bass, shrimp and mussels, and was well accented by the slightly spicy red curry broth. In a similar vein, the stir-fried shrimp with sweet Thai basil and rice noodles stood out for its bold flavors and subtle Thai influence. Grasshopper’s rendition of pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup dish, was served with thin slices of rare beef in a clear broth nuanced with surprising hints of anise. Unexpected flavors like this are what set Grasshopper apart from the melee of Asian-inspired restaurants accross the Triangle. Lower points on the menu included a Chinese wheat noodle dish with peanut sauce that was bland and wanting of salt, and a roasted pork chow mein overpowered by soy sauce. Grasshopper shows flashes of culinary brilliance in aspects of individual dishes and has great potential to improve as time passes. In addition, the weekend dim sum menu should prove popular among Duke students. Prices: $8-$12 for entrees Perks: Walking distance from East Campus, low prices, bar with specialty drinks, outdoor seating in garden Picks: Seafood red curry, Vietnamese pho Bryan Zupon   Album review A Bigger Bang We are living in a musically retrospective age: New New Wave and ’80s nostalgia dominate the air waves. Unsurprisingly, artists past their prime have created some of the best albums of the last half-decade. Dylan’s Love and Theft, Ray Charles’ Genius Loves Company and Bruce Springsteen’s Devils and Dust may not be their respective artist’s best work, but they easily surpass many of the imitative wankers recording today. Which leads to The Rolling Stones’ newest release, A Bigger Bang. Compared to their recent efforts, and the recent efforts of their progeny, The Stones’ latest album holds true to its name. Keith Richards’ legendary rhythm section is back, thumping through Bang’s best tracks. There are enough individually great songs on this album that the Stones may have to re-release their greatest hits album as 43 Licks. “Rough Justice” and “It Won’t Take Long” have enough guitar crunch to let Mick Jagger strut his way around Wallace Wade Stadium, while “She Saw me Coming” should prompt thousands of lighters to brighten the field. Unfortunately, the album as a whole fails to achieve greatness in two respects. First, it is marred by Jagger’s sometimes careless lyrics (such as his propensity to rhyme “sad” with “bad”). But more bothersome is a surprisingly absent mood. The Stones’ best albums always established a dominant feeling. Exile on Main Street prompted the sensation of defiantly bursting out of a dark, cramped space. Let it Bleed drags through and out of hell. A Bigger Bang—with its schizophrenic movement between swagger and sadness—sounds more like a compilation album than a Stones classic: it never provides the definitive rock and roll atmosphere that made the Stones legends. Jordan Everson