COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — The lines began to form around 3 p.m., an hour before the Ameristar Casino opened its new Heritage Buffet for dinner.

And for the rest of this Friday night, the wait to get in was at least an hour — until the cash register closed at 11 p.m.

Hotel guests and casino visitors came for the crab legs — all they could eat — and the mussels, prime rib, fried chicken and pot roast.

There also were salads galore and desserts aplenty to tempt any sweet tooth.

All it took was a little patience and $16.99 plus tax.

Open since 1996, the Ameristar Casino is a popular destination for gambling, entertainment and dining.

It's even more so now, since the casino recently completed a $10 million renovation of the hotel and buffet, one of four restaurants on the casino's grounds.

The new $3.3 million Heritage Buffet, which opened June 16, replaces the Veranda Buffet and has a totally new look.

The restaurant features wood plank floors, knotty pine siding, brick walls, leather seating and granite countertops.

Historic Council Bluffs photos and Midwestern accessories and memorabilia give the restaurant a hometown feel. It reminds me of a historic house's study or library, without the books.

The new place seats 348, and nearly every one of them was filled Friday night.

"Business has been outstanding," said Andy Fotis, Ameristar's food and beverage director. "People say they love it. We're seeing people coming back day after day."

While the remodel is nice, the big draw is the food, especially on themed nights.

The Heritage Buffet features top sirloin on Thursday nights. On Friday evenings it's giant crab legs, and on Saturdays it's tender filets.

Those entrees complement food found daily at seven food stations. Many of them feature interactive display cooking (I actually watched a pizza bake inside a wood-burning brick oven). The stations include:

* an Italian station, where chefs prepare a variety of pizzas and pasta;

* an Asian station featuring wok-cooked favorites;

* a broiler station with steaks, chops and seafood;

* a carving station with roast pork loin, fresh plank-grilled salmon and prime rib (on this night it also had grilled mahi mahi);

* an America station offering comfort food favorites such as pot roast, fried chicken and farm-fresh vegetables;

* a salad station with three types of greens, 20 toppings, a dozen dressings and four prepared salads (I recommend the antipasto);

* and a dessert island with more than 25 fresh-baked cakes and pies from the casino's in-house pastry shop. The centerpiece is the signature chocolate fountain, with several goodies — go with the strawberries — available for dipping.

Buffet prices are $8.99 for lunch and Saturday brunch, $12.99 for dinner Sunday-Wednesday, $14.99 for steak dinners Thursday and Saturday and Sunday brunch, and $16.99 for crab legs dinner on Friday.

When I'm dining, I'm always interested in enjoying the "experience." And this was one of a different kind.

After finishing with pieces of cherry and coconut cream pies (I couldn't help myself), my companion and I wandered by the shops and through the casino and even tried our luck at one of the tables.

The buffet was our reason for being there, but it was the entire casino experience that made the night memorable and worth the trip from Lincoln.

So much so I didn't even mind waiting in line for an hour.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.

Dining out

Heritage Buffet

(Ameristar Casino)

2200 River Road, Council Bluffs

Atmosphere: Casual

Specialty: Buffet

Payment: Cash, check, major credit cards

Hours: lunch, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; dinner, 4-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 4-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Phone: (712) 328-8888

Web site: www.ameristarcasinos.com/council

Notes: Steak dinner on Thursdays and Saturdays, crab legs dinner on Fridays, parking, alcohol

Editor's note: Ground Zero is off on its traditional July road trips to visit restaurants in nearby communities close enough for an evening meal on a hot summer night.