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Reccomend me a grill.....

Mackie

Mackie

Monkey
Mar 4, 2004
826
0
New York
So I'm shopping for a mid-sized grill for my deck - natural gas hookup, and I'm kind of overwhelmed by the choices. Anyone have a grill that they like or don't like?
I'll mostly be doing chicken, burgers, dogs, steak, and veggies, if that helps.
I'm open to suggestions.
Thanks!
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,165
1,261
NC
Mackie said:
So I'm shopping for a mid-sized grill for my deck - natural gas hookup, and I'm kind of overwhelmed by the choices. Anyone have a grill that they like or don't like?
I'll mostly be doing chicken, burgers, dogs, steak, and veggies, if that helps.
I'm open to suggestions.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
I was thoroughly suprised at the quality of the Fiesta grill that my girlfriend bought me. For $200, everything bolted together very solidly and it turned out to be a great, solid piece of equipment. No word on the longevity of it since I've only had it a couple months but I've done quite a bit of grilling and am very happy.

Fiesta is a discount brand. Got mine at Home Depot.

If you want the bling, though, go for a Vermont Castings :drool: :drool: :drool: - my dad bought one and it's so damn nice... The the thing is so solidly made that it looks like it would survive a nuclear explosion.
 
narlus

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
65
behind the viewfinder
i had a thermos grill for the 1st go-round, and it lasted about 6-7 years (althoguh i had to replace the burners twice, and something else too; the heat distribution plates?). it also came w/ ten million screws and wingnuts. it probably took 90 mins to assemble.

when this was on the last leg, i decided to spend some more coin and got a Ducane. very easy assembly, no hot or cold spots, very good construction, strong warranty. haven't been disappointed. but it wasn't cheap. however, i use my grill a lot and figure this was a good investment.
 
SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,815
14,159
In a van.... down by the river
narlus said:
i had a thermos grill for the 1st go-round, and it lasted about 6-7 years (althoguh i had to replace the burners twice, and something else too; the heat distribution plates?). it also came w/ ten million screws and wingnuts. it probably took 90 mins to assemble.

when this was on the last leg, i decided to spend some more coin and got a Ducane. very easy assembly, no hot or cold spots, very good construction, strong warranty. haven't been disappointed. but it wasn't cheap. however, i use my grill a lot and figure this was a good investment.
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I got a decent Char Broil. Wasn't "cheap" but not particularly expensive. Had it for 3 years now and the only thing I've had to change was the igniter assembly (under 10 yr warranty). No rust on anything, but I attribute that to buying a good cover.

All cheap grills I've seen have usually succumbed to rust in 3 or 4 years.

-S.S.-
 
I Are Baboon

I Are Baboon

Vagina man
Aug 6, 2001
32,741
10,677
MTB New England
I have an (approx) 89 year old Kenmore grill that came with the house. It works. It's kind of ratty though and needs to be replaced. It's just old. I have certainly gotten my $0 out of it. It's working so well that I'd consider another Kenmore (somewhere in there is a Ty Pennington joke that eludes me :think: )
 
narlus

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
65
behind the viewfinder
SkaredShtles said:
I got a decent Char Broil. Wasn't "cheap" but not particularly expensive. Had it for 3 years now and the only thing I've had to change was the igniter assembly (under 10 yr warranty). No rust on anything, but I attribute that to buying a good cover.

All cheap grills I've seen have usually succumbed to rust in 3 or 4 years.

-S.S.-
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my burners didn't die from rust, though. i like to crank the heat (sear and serve), esp for steak, so i have it on med-high or high most of the time.

i agree that a grill cover's a good idea, but most of the time mine seems to be hanging off the deck railing. :nope:
 
MMcG

MMcG

Ride till you puke!
Dec 10, 2002
15,457
12
Burlington, Connecticut
I Are Baboon said:
The price. :dead: MBC and I went looking. The one I want is like $1000. How much better can it grill than a cheaper brand with similar features?
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I dunno.........maybe it's construction is better - sort of like a Huffy vs. a Turner type of comparison???
 
Spitfired

Spitfired

Monkey
Jun 18, 2004
489
0
Rochester, NY
Webers are the best you can get, but you pay a little more.
Fiesta's suck. Every single one I've build has either been missing parts or has had some other fit problem. Usually the legs are tweeked and I have to bend the frame by hand to get all four legs to sit properly.
Char-Broils are allright - Better than fiesta, but they got nothing on weber.

By the way, I work at a home store (Chase-Pitkin in upstate NY) and build grills like whoa.
 
narlus

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
65
behind the viewfinder
yeah, $1000 sounds like it's either 304 stainless or has a lot of crap like a rotisserie or side burner (which i think is a complete waste of $, personally).
 
SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,815
14,159
In a van.... down by the river
Spitfired said:
Webers are the best you can get, but you pay a little more.
Fiesta's suck. Every single one I've build has either been missing parts or has had some other fit problem. Usually the legs are tweeked and I have to bend the frame by hand to get all four legs to sit properly.
Char-Broils are allright - Better than fiesta, but they got nothing on weber.

By the way, I work at a home store (Chase-Pitkin in upstate NY) and build grills like whoa.
Click to expand...
Forget Weber for the best.

Viking beats all: http://www.vikingrange.com/outdoor/od_gasgrills.html

Do *not* look at the prices, though. :dead:

-S.S.-
 
SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,815
14,159
In a van.... down by the river
I Are Baboon said:
HAHAHA

What I *meant* was that I can not prepare the meat (i.e. spice it up or marinate it) as well as steaks I've had in restaurants. By all means, send me some recipes. ;)
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Forget the "preparation" for a good steak. Pepper only. Thick, *good* cut of meat. CostCo has very good steaks. Serve medium rare:



-S.S.-

Edit: helps if the steak is room temperature before throwing on the grill
 
I Are Baboon

I Are Baboon

Vagina man
Aug 6, 2001
32,741
10,677
MTB New England
narlus said:
yeah, $1000 sounds like it's either 304 stainless or has a lot of crap like a rotisserie or side burner (which i think is a complete waste of $, personally).
Click to expand...
The ones I was looking at had side burners and all that other crap. I just want a large grilling area and a work area, but it seems that Weber only offers that with grills that have a lot of other things I don't need. What do I need burners for when I have a stove 15 feet away?
 
narlus

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
65
behind the viewfinder
SkaredShtles said:
Forget Weber for the best.

Viking beats all: http://www.vikingrange.com/outdoor/od_gasgrills.html

Do *not* look at the prices, though. :dead:

-S.S.-
Click to expand...
do you really think viking is the best? i love it when people buy Sub Zero refrigerators thinking they are getting "the best" because it's comes in stainless steel, has the name cachet, and costs a fortune.

then you see the reliability of the models and realize that a GE or Amana or something could keep yr six pack and deli meats at a consistent, cold temperature w/o breaking and for a lot less $.

not saying that this is the case necessarily w/ the viking grill, but even high priced stuff like Mercedes consistently ranks low on the JD Power survey. in general, one can't always assume that higher priced means better.
 
narlus

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
65
behind the viewfinder
I Are Baboon said:
The ones I was looking at had side burners and all that other crap. I just want a large grilling area and a work area, but it seems that Weber only offers that with grills that have a lot of other things I don't need. What do I need burners for when I have a stove 15 feet away?
Click to expand...
exactly, you don't.

see if there is a Ducane dealer in yr area.
 
SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,815
14,159
In a van.... down by the river
narlus said:
<snip>not saying that this is the case necessarily w/ the viking grill, but even high priced stuff like Mercedes consistently ranks low on the JD Power survey. in general, one can't always assume that higher priced means better.
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Naw - it's probably overpriced crap. But Viking seems to know how to do gas stoves/grills for internal applications.

Although there's probably better for that too. :D

-S.S.-
 
J

JRB

Guest
SkaredShtles said:
:stupid:

In 3 years I've used my rotisserie 4 times and my side burner maybe a dozen times.

-S.S.-
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I'm surprised your retro ass uses anything short of a camp fire. :think:
 
dexter

dexter

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2001
3,053
99
Boise, Idaho
alright since i got cock blocked by the damn internet ill chip in my random 2cents. we have a viking back home and it rocks. have cooked a bunch of differnet meats, fish, vegy's etc on it over the past few years and it keeps on ticking and making some bomb ass food.

edited for weirdness
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,165
1,261
NC
Spitfired said:
Fiesta's suck. Every single one I've build has either been missing parts or has had some other fit problem. Usually the legs are tweeked and I have to bend the frame by hand to get all four legs to sit properly.
Click to expand...
Funny - mine went together first time, no missing parts, no bending whatsoever. Actually, it was probably the easiest item of that nature that I've ever assembled - few big parts, bolted right together, no fit issues whatsoever. :think:

Ahh well...
 
dan-o

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
My vote is for an old school 22" Weber ($85) and Cowboy Brand "real" charcoal ($12 for a 20# bag). I can't stand gas grills, the heat's just not the same, and enjoy having built in beer draining time while waiting for the coals to heat up.
 
Mackie

Mackie

Monkey
Mar 4, 2004
826
0
New York
SkaredShtles said:
Forget the "preparation" for a good steak. Pepper only. Thick, *good* cut of meat. CostCo has very good steaks. Serve medium rare:



-S.S.-

Edit: helps if the steak is room temperature before throwing on the grill
Click to expand...
Wait, you recommend buying a multi-thousand dollar grill & you buy your meat at CostCo?
:confused: :confused: :confused:
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,165
1,261
NC
Mackie said:
Wait, you recommend buying a multi-thousand dollar grill & you buy your meat at CostCo?
:confused: :confused: :confused:
Click to expand...
Ever bought meat at CostCo? They actually have some really good meat.
 
I Are Baboon

I Are Baboon

Vagina man
Aug 6, 2001
32,741
10,677
MTB New England
binary visions said:
Ever bought meat at CostCo? They actually have some really good meat.
Click to expand...


I buy lots of meat there...ground beef, steaks, boneless chicken. You can't buy 6 pounds of ground beef at a grocery store for $2.50/pound. :)
 
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