"Some of the city’s most innovative contemporary American food comes from this high-energy sliver of a restaurant, owned by pastry chef Dara Wong. Although there’s a small dining room near the back, the magic happens at the bar overlooking the exhibition kitchen, where savvy customers watch the seasonal dishes being made and order accordingly. Executive chef Tamara Stanger — the Phoenix chef who earned acclaim for her Arizona-centric work at Helio Basin Brewing and Cotton and Copper — joined Wong last December, bringing along her legendary rabbit lasagnette and extraordinary pies as well as a sense of grounded creativity that blends well with Shift’s ethos. Don’t miss the duck taquitos, sauced with mesquite mole, the Southern-fried pork chop with beer-braised nopales, or Wong’s wonderful savory sorbets." - Nikki Buchanan