The year was 1999, and a flamboyant Italian man dined night after night at Matsuhisa, chef Nobu Matsuhisa's eponymous Beverly Hills sushi joint. He'd heard the restaurant was lucky: Eat here before the Academy Awards, and you're guaranteed to take home the prize. The man in question was Roberto Benigni, who, sure enough, nabbed the Oscar for best actor in Life Is Beautiful. The recipe for success had proved effective the year before, too, when Robin Williams snacked on its signature yellow-tail sashimi with jalapeno, then won the trophy for best supporting actor in Good Will Hunting. By then the establishment was swamped with A-listers.
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