Our Favorite Grill

The first warm evening of the year, Dad hauled our old grill out of the garage and it wheezed, sputtered, and refused to light while eight hungry people stood around waiting. That was the night we admitted the giant clunker we owned was more trouble than it was worth — too big to move, too fussy to start, and rusted in all the wrong places. What we actually needed was something simple we could fire up on a Tuesday without it turning into a whole event.

We ended up choosing the Charbroil Portable 1-Burner Propane Grill, and it fit our real life better than the fancier models ever did. It lights on the first try, heats up quickly, and is light enough that Dad can carry it to the driveway for a birthday or out to the park when the whole crew piles into the van. For burgers and hot dogs in the numbers we go through, one strong burner does the job without any fuss.

The pricier grills we considered had more space and more knobs, but also more to clean, more to store, and more to break. At around fifty-five dollars, the Charbroil felt almost too affordable to be good — and then it kept proving us wrong, cookout after cookout. The grates wipe down fast, which matters when you are already washing dishes for eight, and it tucks into a corner of the garage instead of hogging half of it. For a big family that grills on impulse, easy beat elaborate every time.