But at the Last Chance the corkscrew pasta covered with onions, zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, broccoli and mushrooms was infused with the taste of a brothlike sauce made from the natural juices of the vegetables.

The shrimp pasta Evangeline was a sensitive and lyrical composition of corkscrew pasta, fresh garlic, basil, white pepper, cream and a generous supply of firm medium-size shrimp.

A chicken-pesto-and-pasta salad was a platter piled high with a mix of fusilli (corkscrew pasta), strips of chicken breast, broccoli florets, zucchini and toasted pine nuts - a delicious combination, built for the appetite of a Mike Tyson.

Classic and always a sure bet here, a mound of chopped clams topped a tangle of linguine in sheer buttery sauce, and colorful fusilli alla campagnola brought that corkscrew pasta tossed with chopped tomatoes, mushrooms and peas.

The corkscrew pesto-flavored pasta also has charm, notably from the wilted arugula and shallots around the pasta, but the dish as a whole isn't successful.

Ordinary, too, were an artichoke appetizer in lemon and olive oil, steamed mussels in white wine and herbs, somewhat dry duck ragout enclosed in pastry and a bland creation of corkscrew pasta, creamy garlic sauce and broccoli.

Two pastas were first-rate, linguine sparked by goat cheese, Italian sausage, grilled chicken, pea pods and basil and fusilli turini, a toss of corkscrew pasta, strips of flavorful chicken, prosciutto, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and oil.

Pasta jambalaya was a zesty dish but we would have relished more shrimp, Lousiana crawfish and chorizo and less corkscrew pasta.

The corkscrew pasta was bathed in a sheer cream sauce dotted with shrimp and sausage.

In the salads tested the most fat was found in Balducci's pasta carbonara made with corkscrew pasta, prosciutto, onions, cream and Romano cheese.