Boffo buffet

Can a 350-seat casino buffet provide an intimate and even a -- dare I say it? -- romantic dining experience?

Yes, it can. The new Terrace Buffet at Argosy Riverside Casino breaks the banal buffet mold of wall-to-wall tables and high school cafeteria ambiance.

The new room opened Friday and raised the bar for competitors. The Terrace Room won't be easy to top.

Argosy's designers opted for low lighting in divided room settings with cozy alcoves tucked along a serpentine floor plan that is reminiscent of a sleepy Mediterranean village.

One seating area is in a faux garden, complete with faux vine-draped trellises. A few discreet tables hide behind a faux crumbling faux stone wall. One of the larger areas is in another faux garden, with tables set under faux timbers with a fine view of faux lemon trees and faux flower gardens.

The gurgling fountains are real, and so is the hand-painted mosaic tile floor in the entryway.

"We do a lot of things to fake reality," said Paul Keller, Argosy's design and construction vice president and leader of the team that conceived the casino's $105 million reincarnation.

"Casinos are an escape from reality. This is an oasis," Keller said of the inviting Terrace Room.

The buffet is the first phase to come online in Argosy's yearlong renovation project.

Of utmost importance, the food is much better than the old buffet's fare -- 50 percent better, to be precise.

Food and beverage director Greg Personelli said about 75 percent of the items on the Terrace Room's all-new menu are prepared on site from scratch. The old buffet line served about 75 percent store-bought food items that were prepared in advance.

A steakhouse and a casual dining room will open later this year. A new entrance is being built into a dramatic new outside facade. The new 60,000-square-foot, single-deck casino is expected to open in December with an all-coinless lineup of 1,750 slot machines.
Keller promises the Terrace Room is merely a warmup act for the new casino, which will feature a laser light show outside.

Two sneak peeks inside: Leonardo da Vinci's workshop and decor that features 120 textures and 516 colors.

Said Argosy Senior Vice President Virginia McDowell: "I didn't know there were 516 colors."