THE SAN FERNANDO Valley claims its share of top-tier sushi counters: I’d direct you to Brothers Sushi in Woodland Hills, Go’s Mart in Canoga Park or, for a glass of grand cru Chablis alongside your aji and hirame, Sushi Note in Sherman Oaks. I particularly admire Shin Sushi in Encino, an experience of the genre stripped to its essence. Chef-owner Taketoshi Azumi doesn’t pad his omakase with farmers market finds, vegan derivations, A5 Wagyu or truffle salt. Dinner will start with an appetizer plate of rotating seafood and vegetables that frequently includes one sawagani — a tiny fried crab that is entirely crunch. Then Azumi channels his energies solely into nigiri. His focus is a reminder that unions of fish and rice can be riveting in their gradations of texture, with minimal embellishment needed. Pray that he receives his shipment of menegi, needle-thin Japanese chives. He binds a bundle of them to rice with a band of nori and a finishing sprinkle of bonito flakes. This is often a finale piece, and its resonant sharpness doesn’t dim until after a spoonful or two of tofu mousse with black sugar syrup for dessert.

• 16573 Ventura Blvd., Encino, (818) 616-4148, instagram.com/shinsushicorp