There are a ton of reasons not to eat meat: animal welfare, global warming, health, and even (God forbid) because some folks don’t like the taste of it. So it’s with no small amount of kiss-my-ass attitude that a pair of Floridians started Meat Week in 2005. The barbecue pig-out has since spread to Los Angeles, Atlanta, Baltimore, and other cities, but alas not D.C.

The rules of Meat Week are pretty simple: You eat barbecue eight days in a row, from Sunday to Sunday. You’re supposed to eat at Sonny’s on the first and last days of the promotion, assuming your city has an outlet of the barbecue chain, which the D.C. area doesn’t, but there are even ways around this rule. This year’s Meat Week, which runs from Jan. 25 to Feb. 1, is already in full swing, and we in the District are way, way, way behind on our flesh eating.

So I have a proposal.

No, I’m not suggesting we start a D.C. chapter of Meat Week—-at least not yet. But let’s plan a Friday night dinner at Urban Bar-B-Que in Rockville. We already have a good excuse to stop by the ‘cue outlet. We can nosh on Urban’s new-style ‘cue and decide then if we want to form our own Meat Week chapter for next year.

Who’s in? Mike Riggs, Mike DeBonis, Capital Spice, DanielK, and others have already expressed interest. If you can make it Friday night, e-mail me at tcarman@washingtoncitypaper.com, and I’ll arrange the time. As Meat Week points out, believe it or not, vegetarians are welcome. Proselytizers, however, are not.

Image courtesy of Meat Week