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The mixed grill features skewers of rosemary-seasoned marinated steak and chicken with yellow and green zucchini and roasted potatoes.

The Chocolate Ciottoli cake has a topping of soft brownie cobbles laced with hazelnuts and chocolate glaze.

The Southern Italian specialty zeppoli are soft, light pillows of fried dough covered with powdered sugar.

The Tuscan Garlic Chicken breast halves were served with roasted garlic, red peppers and spinach in a white wine cream sauce on a bed of fettuccine.

My family and I recently visited the Olive Garden at Valley View Mall in Roanoke and delighted in selecting dishes from their new appetizer, entree and dessert menus, which will be available for the next few weeks.

We started the meal by sharing an exceptional appetizer, Lasagna Fritta (six for $7.75). These perfectly fried meatless, rolled lasagna noodles came sitting on a pool of creamy Alfredo sauce, topped with an herb-laced marinara sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

The entrees we relished, Tuscan Garlic Shrimp (nine shrimp for $14.75) and Tuscan Garlic Chicken (two 3-ounce halves for $13.25), yielded equally outstanding results. The large shrimp and chicken breast halves were sauteed and then enhanced with a restrained layering of flavors and ingredients consisting of roasted garlic, red peppers and spinach in a white wine cream sauce, all of which embrace a mound of curly fettuccine. The cooked-to-order mixed grill ($15.75) featured skewers of tender, flavorful rosemary-seasoned marinated steak and chicken with yellow and green zucchini accompanied by roasted potatoes (it's my favorite meal here).

The new desserts include the Southern Italian specialty zeppoli (eight for $6.35) -- soft, light pillows of fried dough covered with powdered sugar. (We visited family in Connecticut a couple of weekends ago and went to an Olive Garden in Enfield, where the zeppoli were at least 1 12 times larger than the size of Roanoke's zeppoli.) Chocolate Ciottoli cake ($5.95), deeply flavored with light and dark chocolate mousse, has a topping of soft brownie cobbles laced with hazelnuts and chocolate glaze. Its balanced richness comes through minus cloying sweetness, like the greatest piece of chocolate candy that's ever melted in my mouth.

Olive Garden Located on Valley View Boulevard in Roanoke (362-0417) and on North Franklin Street in Christiansburg (381-3240).