One of my best memories of my youth is when my Mother taught me the basics of grilling on her Weber Genesis grill. I quickly learned from her that there was so much more to grilling than just putting a piece of meat on a hot grill and letting it cook. From that moment on I tried to learn as much as I could about grilling and whenever the opportunity arose to cook on the grill I wanted to assist. Even to this day I enjoy going to my parent house for family functions because I know my parents will be grilling and I will have the opportunity to assist my mother.
When I got older and bought a home with a patio one of the first purchases that I made was a grill. I knew then what grill I wanted yet, while shopping I quickly realized that there would not be a Weber grill in my backyard. As my mother always said “You got a champagne taste on a cool aid budget.” So I settled for a big box store brand grill which does the job yet other year I would go out and purchase another.
So last year at the end of the summer I ran into the recurring problem. I went outside to preheat the grill and I noticed that one of the burners was not lighting. I removed the grates and to my disgust I realized that rust had taken over my grill and made it unusable. So I went inside depressed and finished the meal on the stove and oven. Thankfully it was the end of the summer and I quickly forgot about my grill not working.
Winter came and went without mention of the grill and the tragedy that occurred, until one day in February when Harmony asked me if I wanted her to pick up some Brats to have for dinner. At that moment I realized what was coming…Grilling Season! Then that feeling of joy and excitement quickly changed to sadness and depression. I remembered my grill and the state in which it lay. It was hard for me to do, but I turned down the brats and all the other glorious meat that was sitting at the butcher shop which I would not be grilling.
There was hope on the horizon. It was February and tax return time in the Wright household, and Harmony said that if we have money left over from the plans we have made we would be able to purchase the Weber grill I have always wanted. I was elated, and if I was a single man with no children I would have not thought twice about going and buying a brand new Weber Summit S-670. Yet, I love my wife and children and want to give them the best in life so I told myself to settle for the Weber Summit E-420. There were still a few problems which I had to figure out. How much money would be left over from our tax return? Would I find a local retailer that had the grill in stock? Would my wife allow me to have a grilling party to “break in” the new grill? And the most important question, would Harmony allow me to purchase the Weber grill I have always wanted?
I started my research. Looking online at all the available models which Weber had to offer, reading all of the reviews of the different models and calling stores to find out which models they have in stock. Then I got a phone call from Harmony. She found me a great Weber grill at a big box store for $200! I quickly asked for a picture and started to ask her questions about the grill. After a long question and answer session over the phone I told her that it was the grill for me. I am not size prejudice when it comes to grilling but I do feel that a grill must have at least 3 burners and be large enough to cook for an entire party.
Later that night we discussed what I wanted in a grill and she told me that if I wanted the Weber grill then I would have to wait to get that grill until we can budget the additional money, or I can purchase a grill for under $200. I do not remember the details of that night but do remember there was a pit in my stomach because it was grilling season and I had to have a grill, yet because of the budget I was facing I would not be able to purchase the grill of my dreams. So I started again to research grills, this time I was looking at the ones being offered at the big box stores.
After many hours of searching for a new grill and not being able to determine which grill would fill the void and last for longer than the previous model something happened. Harmony told me that she was sick of purchasing grills that only lasted a couple of years and maybe we should get a Weber after all. I was elated! I knew exactly which one we were going to get so I asked her to meet me at the grill store after work so we can look at the Weber grills they had in stock.
The Genesis E-320 Bronze model grill is a beauty and large enough to cook enough food for two or three families. I knew the store had it in stock and while on my way to the store I was planning the weekly menu and what I would be cooking each day on that grill. I arrived at the store and saw Harmony and the kids looking over all the grills, and the Genesis E-320 was there next to her. I quickly told her that this was the grill which I wanted and she quickly told me that we would not be spending that on a grill. What?! How could this be? I felt like a dehydrated animal being lead to a pool of water only to be drug away and given a small cup of water. We did not have a heated discussion about the grill but I made my point very well about why I wanted the larger gill and she made her point as to why we should purchase the smaller grill. Finally in the end she told me the words that I hear so often… “Do what you think is right”.
Well I could not be happier with the grill we purchased that day. It has been used at least 3 times a week since we purchased it and will continue to get that much use. Harmony is also happy not because she won, but because I am happy and got the Weber grill I always wanted the Spirit E-310.
