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Since re-launching under new ownership earlier this year, Pink Pony has had a bumpy ride. For those who don’t remember, here’s a quick recap: Scottsdale’ oldest restaurant re-opened with a new look and menu under executive chef Donald Fawcett in March. By July, we learned Fawcett and his entire staff including the pastry chef and general manager had been fired — which was probably a good thing because the food hadn’t been very well-received.
Now it’s fall and the restaurant is ready to name its new executive chef. The Pink Pony has hired Stephen K. Eldridge to take over the historical Scottsdale kitchen.
You may know Eldridge as the chef who opened Gertrude’s at the Desert Botanical Garden in January 2013.
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He left that post by early this year, when the restaurant announced chef Matt Taylor, formerly of Market Street Kitchen at DC Ranch, would be taking the reins.
Eldridge was raised in Arizona and graduated from Arizona Culinary Institute. Prior to developing the menu for and launching Gertrude’s, Eldridge worked with Valley restaurants including the Greene House and Quiessence at the Farm at South Mountain. His resume also includes time at the Chancellor Restaurant in the Point Breeze Hotel, Nantucket Island, Mass. and MK North, Osteria di Tramonto, and the 312 Chicago.
The Pink Pony opened in 1947. It was long a steakhouse, known in part for drawing crowds of baseball players (and their fans) during the Spring Training season.
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