Steakhouses are competitive today and the typical Yelper probably has his or her favorite.  My good friend and I were eager to see the type of energy that the new investors have injected into a local legend, the Wigwam in Litchfield Park. 

As time was flying by, in the last 10 years, the AZ Kitchen (also in the Wigwam Resort) closed for dinner.  This southwestern gem was also affectionately called the 'Snake Pit' by a friend but the service was top notch and it was one of the earlier restaurants that provided full view of the kitchen by diners.  The Wigwam's ballroom dining has now been converted to Red's Steakhouse. 

Service started out well with a nice touch of a choice of fruit for your water.  The waiter had recommendations but also allowed us time to ponder the menu.  We opted for the couple's dinner, essentially a prix fixe with a salad, choice of sea bass or steak, and the shared dessert.  We also decided to try the crab cake appetizer - just to adventure through the menu a bit; this resulted in a stern warning from the waiter that the steaks were 14 ounces. 

The crab cake was a nice presentation with fresh crab and a toasted crunchy top and colorful spinach bottom.   The side avocado dressing was a bit heavy for the crab and appeared similar to the faux guacamole at cheaper eateries.  However the crab was dry and the waiter brought more of this dressing out for us. 

The service with the Caesar salad presentation began to falter. The salad is the craze of serving entire stalks of the romaine and a toasted slice of bread.  Reminding the waiter for salt and pepper, he promptly provided a set and advised us the salt was also in a grinder. My friend determined that the pepper grinder was broken and did not provide a coarse grind and the waiter asked if we would like another pepper grinder.  Actually, for the prix fixe price of $45, I really wanted the waiter to politely grind the salt and pepper over our salads.  The crouton had no flavor. 

Our steaks were done as ordered but the NY Strip did not have a lot of flavor. The menu indicates the meat is grilled at 1600 degrees. However, my medium rare steak really appeared to be grilled on my a standard grill with no caramelizing or searing to hold in the rare juices. The steaks were true to size of waiter's tip. 

The steaks were served with two asparagus stalks which appeared to be white asparagus with green tips, a unique veggie for the plate. 
An au gratin potato patty also accompanied the steak and was quite yummy. 

As the server boxed up our plates, they brought out a raspberry mouse.  Its flavor did not impress either of us but my girlfriend did find the mascarpone center and it was addictive. 

Service was not astute nor attentive and sometimes baffling.  We were just into the meal when the waiter dramatically closed the drapes of the window near us. One of the other diner's called out in sadness to lose the evening sun but the waiter shushed her and said they would be opened intermittently to avoid blinding other diners. Could Red's should consider awnings or subtle window shades to preserve our dining views? 

The Wigwam may not be hoppin' just yet; but  as we left the restaurant, the three restaurants on Old Litchfield Road - outside the gates of the resort - were busy as locals may have enjoyed more reasonable fare and better service.  These restaurants are our next adventure!