There are certain culinary experiences that make me feel lucky to be an Angeleno. Sitting at the sushi bar opposite Morihiro “Mori” Onodera while he expertly marries silvery-skinned fish and rice in the palm of his hand, raising his arms like a dancer to get the right angle, is high on that list. The most enthusiastic sushi obsessives will tell you that any great nigiri starts with the shari, and Onodera has earned a zealous fan base for his rice. When he opened Mori Sushi in West L.A. in 2000, it was an epoch in the city’s establishment as a mecca for sushi. Now at Morihiro, he mills his rice and seasons it with a red vinegar that gives the shari its trademark Champagne hue, the grains a loosely packed collection of individual flavor bombs hitting each piece of fish. It could be a pink-skinned barracuda, the edges curled up and slightly charred, or a tiger prawn brushed with just enough soy to tease out its marine sweetness — each is exactly the right temperature. Before the parade of nigiri, there is Onodera’s silky tofu, made with soy milk from Kyoto. Many of the evening’s bites are served on ceramic dishware he makes himself. It’s been decades since Onodera opened his first namesake restaurant, and he’s still setting the tone for sushi in L.A., and beyond. — J.H.

3133 GLENDALE BLVD., LOS ANGELES, (323) 522-3993 l MORIONODERA.COM