Once again, Washington City Paper is asking for YOUR opinion, on a multitude of things: What do you love about living in Washington? Music, people, quirky bits and — of course — food.

We’ve won “Best BBQ” for the past few years, and we’re in the running again this year. If you love Rocklands and think we’re still leading the way in DC’s lively barbeque scene, won’t you vote for us again this year?

Here’s a quick link to Rockland’s voting page, just to make it easy for you. Thank you for your support.

And since it’s an election year, we should probably say: “We are Rocklands, and we endorse this message.”

Oh, when our eyes meat, I get weak in the ribs…

You are the grill mark of love.

I ♥ chopped barbequed pork.

U R my corn pudding.

Who needs hot sauce? I have you.

The above are our entries into the contest to rewrite those little candy hearts. We know, we know, we have to cut the lengths down a bit — but hey, it’s a start. And by the way, our Valentine’s Day menu is hot to trot for you right here.

With so many customers coming from the Potomac/Rockville/Silver Spring area, we HAD to open a location on the Pike. Feels like just yesterday we were wrangling with contractors to get Rocklands Rockville open. But six years have flown by!

To celebrate our sixth anniversary, we’re offering complimentary cornbread triangles in our Rockville location only on Thursday, February  9. Our cornbread is one of our most popular sides, and at this time of year it’s a great addition to a bowl of chili. Come have a birthday lunch or supper with us!

For those of you scratching your heads and saying, “Where IS Rocklands in Rockville?”, we’re easy to find once you know how: on the Pike in Wintergreen Plaza (891A Rockville Pike), right next to Bloom. If you need more than that, check out the map here.

We were thinking of singing the birthday song, but we’ll need some help to hit the high notes. All you sopranos, come on in.

It really SHOULD be called “Barbeque Week,” but that doesn’t sound so nifty: Right now we are in the heart of Meat Week 2012, the Holiday That Time Forgot. There’s a solid core of celebrants who are working their way around the city eating barbeque for eight straight days. If you count leftovers for lunch, that’s a lot of barbeque.

Rocklands has the all-powerful anchor position for Meat Week: We’re the ones doing Barbeque Brunch on Super Bowl Sunday. You’ll be tired, yes, but you’ll want to come in to get what Washingtonian called “an awesome-sounding sandwich/hangover cure special … featuring [chopped barbequed] pork, bacon, and a fried egg.” Here’s the special menu we’ll have at ALL Rocklands locations from 11 to 2 pm ONLY this Sunday:

• Southern Barbecued Pulled Chicken Sandwich (served with white sauce and pickles) — $6.99
• Brunswick Stew with cornbread — single serving for $3.49, pint for $5.99
• PB&E Sandwich (chopped barbequed pork, bacon & a fried egg) — $7.99

We’ll have our regular menu, of course. And we’ll stop serving this brunch at 2 pm ON THE DOT to get ready for all of you picking up your Super Bowl orders.

Why do we love Meat Week? Because it’s a fun way to showcase the variety of barbeque available in the DMV. While we’d love to have you eat at Rocklands every day (and Peter does!), some of you want to branch out sometimes. This is the week to test those branches.

Come in and celebrate Meat Week with us!

Amazing. Feels like just yesterday we were wrangling with contractors to get Rocklands Alexandria open. But eight years have flown by!

To celebrate our eighth anniversary, we’re offering a yummy treat in our Alexandria location only on Thursday, January 26: A barbeque sandwich (chopped pork or pulled chicken), a side, a drink and a cupcake, all for only $8.00 (that’s a good deal). Come have a birthday lunch or supper with us!

For those of you scratching your heads and saying, “Where is Rocklands in ALEXANDRIA?”, we’re easy to find once you know how: 25 South Quaker Lane. If you need more than that, check out the map here.

We were thinking of singing, but that might just be too darn much. We’ll see.

This weather’s kind of driving us crazy. One day, spring. The next, winter. Then it’s raining and sixty again.

Flip-flopping aside, it’s still a good time of year for winter warmers (which help with the gray light). Here’s a fave: Chili and cornbread. Right now, Rocklands’ chili is flying out the door. We make it from scratch in our restaurants, sweet and with just a touch of heat. The simplicity of our chili is deliberate: We want you to be able to add the toppings that make you happy, AND zap on your favorite hot sauce if you so choose.

If you ask us for a chili fully loaded, you’ll find cheese and onions and peppers and sour cream on top. (Of course, you can say “nah” to any of those options.) Our house-made cornbread comes snuggled up next to the chili, or you can ask us to put it underneath.

Whichever way you choose it, come get a little chili belly-warmer soon.

Resolutions can be serious, funny, challenging or slam dunk. Here at Rocklands, we put thought into our annual goals and resolutions: We all sit down at the beginning of the year and think about how we can make Rocklands better, make your experience better, make ourselves better.

Then we write down those resolutions.

That’s because if you write it, you do it. We review where we are quarterly and celebrate progress, whether it’s big jumps or small steps.

We count on you to tell us if we’re on the right track, with food and service and your barbeque experience. We’re looking forward to a GREAT, flavor-filled, fun 2012 with you.

And P.S., if you want some great food/cooking resolutions, check out what our pals at Food52 have resolved for 2012. If you want cool letterpress goods like the photo that goes with this post, check out Lucky Bee Press on Etsy (thanks, Lucky Bee!).

Happy holidays to all our friends and fans! Thanks for your patronage this year; it means a lot to us. We’ve prepared a little holiday video-card for you:

Cheers and Happy New Year from all of us at Rocklands.

We could start singing “The Twelve Days of Christmas” right now, but really, that’s not helpful, is it? What you need is a handful of good gift ideas for the barbecue fan in your life. Here are five — some obvious, some not-so:

1. A Rocklands gift card. We have ‘em in every location, and YOU determine what the amount should be. You can go smallish (stocking stuffer, thank-you gift for assistant) or biggish (dinner for eight).
2. A Rocklands gift bag. These are new and spiffy, a recycled, reusable bag with the Rocklands logo stitched on the side. Fill one with adult beverages and tie a bow on top; or gather some great local foods to fill the bag — like Bergers cookies, Rocklands barbeque sauces and farmers-market jams. Or you can start with our Barbeque Basics starter bag: The cool bag with a great pair of 16″ professional tongs and two Rocklands sauces, for just $24.99.
3. A four-pack of hot sauces. We have the best selection around, everything from sweet and hot to yowza hot. Spice up someone’s life!
4. The Feast for Five. Just what it sounds like: A hearty, crowd-pleasing dinner that will take the pressure off the cook in your house. It’s the gift of both fun and time — priceless. Ask at your favorite Rocklands.
5. And the wild card, just discovered yesterday: Handmade glass bacon-and-egg earrings. They’re at Wake Up Little Suzie in Cleveland Park. Maybe not strictly a barbecue item, but hey, it’s bacon. Put the slice of pork in your left ear, the fried egg on the right, and you are SO ready for the holidays.

Amazing. Twenty-one years ago today, we opened our doors on Wisconsin Avenue. Finally, we are of legal drinking age!

To celebrate the big 2-1, we’re offering $3 beers and $4 shots all day at the original Rocklands. Come in, say hi, and raise a glass with us.

And to all of you who’ve come through our doors over the years: THANK YOU. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it certainly takes a community to raise a restaurant! We could not have hit 21 without you.