A look back at a busy year in the D.C. food scene, along with some of the staff’s favorite dishes they ate in 2011.

Pat Padua’s list of the best films of 2011 does not include mainstream darlings like Hugo, The Artist or Meek’s Cutoff. But it does include some titles you might not find on any other critic’s list.

If you haven’t yet watched The Artist, maybe you should — the region’s local film critics chose it as their 2011 pick of the year.

Persistent rain couldn’t dampen the festivities in Columbia on Sunday, as Sweetgreen‘s Sweetlife Festival — held last year in a small Dupont Circle parking lot — graduated to considerably more impressive digs at Merriweather Post Pavilion. In most respects, the event was a definite success, as local music lovers balanced healthy salads with copious amounts of alcohol, cigarettes, and other less salutary indulgences while taking in an eclectic, entertaining string of performances highlighted by The Strokes’ long-awaited return to a local stage.

“>Bad news for the D.C. government this morning — District Chief Financial Officer Nat Gandhi revealed that the budget deficit for fiscal year 2011 will actually be around $175 million as revenues from income and sales taxes were, well, way below estimates. We knew that the city was probably going to be at least $60 million in the red after overspending on Medicaid and budget overruns from schools and emergency services were factored into…

Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau, pictured here at a 2009 training session with Alex Ovechkin. Photo by photopete It became official today: the Washington Capitals will get to play the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2011 Winter Classic at Heinz Field. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also promised a Winter Classic will come to Washington, D.C. within the next two to three years. Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau says every time he watches a Winter…