His Excellency the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China Zhang Yesui and Madame Chen Naiqing, Susan E. Lehrman, Plácido Domingo and his wife, Marta Ornelas. Photograph by Kyle Gustasfson.

In just a few short years, ball chair Susan E. Lehrman has transformed the annual spring Opera Ball into the city’s most extravagant and must-attend event of the year. Saturday’s event at the Chinese Embassy was no exception, with town cars, BMWs, and Mercedes wrapped around the block in Van Ness as black tie-clad guest spilled forth for an evening of exotic entertainment. Lehrman, who underwrites the full cost of the event (estimated in the mid-six figures) to maximize the nearly $1,000-a-head event’s benefit to the Opera, has had luck encouraging embassies not known for their openness­—Russia last year, China this year­—to allow her to transform their public spaces into foreign worlds filled with food, decorations, copious amounts of high-end alcohol, and a general, care-free Fin de siècle escapism.

>> See more pictures from Artini 2011 

The drinks are strong, the lines are long, and fashion takes a surprising turn for the fierce. This year’s Artini event at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, which took place Saturday night, challenged 12 area bartenders to create a beverage experience worthy of the artworks—all currently hanging in the museum—that inspired it. A list of participating restaurants and the cocktails they created follows after the jump.

Last night was the WKYS-sponsored Takers premiere—a heist film set to come out August 27— at the AMC Georgetown. The film stars Matt Dillon, Hayden Christensen, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, R&B artist Chris Brown, and rapper T.I.

Elba and T.I. were there to promote the film, along with former Wizards star Caron Butler, current Wizards primadonna Andray Blatche, and—for whatever reason—Chris Brown’s mom. Here’s what I learned at the premiere.

1. Don’t attend these things without a camera. I missed out on some great photo ops.

2. Stringer Bell, Elba’s drug-dealer character in HBO’s The Wire, is a better criminal than Gordon Jennings, his character—a bank robber—in Takers. “Stringer is multifaceted and smarter,” Elba said. “He can do more than one crime. In Takers, the guys focus on just one heist.”

3. T.I. isn’t quite sure what’s going on with Virgin Mobile’s FreeFest. I asked him if he was excited to be headlining the festival, and he said, “I’m very excited. It’s a surprise location [Merriweather Post Pavilion] and date [September 25]. I’m just trying to come back with authority.” The tickets went on sale three weeks ago, and the date and location were announced July 2.

 Miss the party? Check out photos from the event here. 

June’s just halfway over, but it’s already been a terrific month for Washington pride. Stephen Strasburg brought a Nationals crowd to its feet in a standing ovation with his electrifying pitching debut on June 8. And last night, a similar phenomenon on a smaller scale occurred when watchers jammed Chef Spike Mendelsohn’s Capitol Hill burger joint, Good Stuff Eatery, to cheer on local contestants in the premiere of the seventh season of Bravo’s Top Chef at a party sponsored by Good Stuff and Washingtonian. They may not have gotten what they hoped for on television—Washington-native cheftestant Timothy Dean was in the bottom four, though he avoided elimination—but as Chef Spike tested new milkshake flavors and recipes for his soon-to-open pizzeria, the audiences weren’t left hungry as they watched the cooking on screen.

Mendelsohn worked the counter and circulated sample pies from We, The Pizza, set to open next door to Good Stuff Eatery on July 12. The slice I tasted was more New York than Neopolitan, with a solid crust necessary to hold up the load of olives, cheese, tomatoes, and peppers. His staff passed around some sample milkshake flavors, too, including a surprisingly tangy apple-maple concoction. And Mendelsohn visited with Carla Hall, the season-five runner-up who now runs Alchemy Caterers, and won, at least for the evening, Washingtonian’s prize for best celebrity guest at a party by showing up with a basketful of cookies and posing for multiple pictures with smitten and adorably jittery fans.

More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Party Photos 

What: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man and Woman of the Year Gala.

Where: Ritz-Carlton, 1150 22nd St., NW.

When: Saturday, June 12. Guests were given a chance to pore through silent auction items starting at 6. At 7, the dining room opened for dinner and presentations. The dance floor opened at 10.

Ticket price: $300.

Dress code: Black tie and the most sequined-dress in your closet.

Who: Supporters of this year’s 20 candidates for Man and Woman of the Year. The competition, which launched back in April, rewards the candidate who raises the most money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. A cumulative goal of $920,000 was set. WJLA-TV’s Alison Starling and 2006 Man of the Year candidate Brian Egan served as masters of ceremonies. Kenneth Dineen of Accenture and Allison Gurnitz of Coray Gurnitz Consulting were the event’s cochairs.

Rodney Wallace, Devon McTavish, Santino Quaranta, Chris Pontius, Dejan Jakovic.

If you’re DC United—a well-loved but currently struggling team in the MLS—how do you feel when one of the world’s best sides drops by for a friendly game? If you’re Devon McTavish, the answer is pretty casual: “It’ll be fun,” the midfielder said at a reception last night to celebrate AC Milan’s visiting players. “This is just a routine training week for us, really.”

In any other town in any other country, the arrival of players such as Ronaldinho, Clarence Seedorf, Dida, and Mancini might raise a sweat or two. But here in Washington, where soccer tends to take a back seat to other sports, the DC United players were making the most of an opportunity to play a game with some of their heroes. “It’s exciting,” said 2010 team addition Daniel Allsopp. “I guess you could get overwhelmed, but I don’t think anyone’s expecting us to win.” McTavish was looking forward to meeting former Dutch international Seedorf. “I’ve been watching him forever,” he said.

Ball gowns and bow ties were spotted all over sleepy Glover Park last night. In a neighborhood of Late Night Shot-ers (Shooters?) and preppy young professionals, one might easily assume that the dressed-to-impress crowd was on its way to yet another charity event. Were women donning cocktail dresses in the name of homeless animals? Getting their hair blown out to help find a cure for a big, scary disease? No, not this time—this crowd was celebrating the return of a beloved grocery store.