Expert: Whitestag - 9/19/2006

Question
Dear Whitestag,
I am in the market for a charcoal grill for my wife and I.

We usually cook fish, vegetables, steaks but would like to roast beef tenderloin, a whole turkey and larger meats for small groups.

I am interested to hear your thoughts about the Portable Kitchen cast aluminum rectangular grill vs.  the Old Smokey Classic.  http:oldsmokey.com and portablekitchen.com

DO you have any suggestions, opinions or first hand knowledge of these two products?

Thank you.
AT

Answer
I have no first-hand knowledge of these products, but here's my impressions based on visiting their web sites.

They're both about the same size.  The Old Smokey seems more portable, if you're interested in something that you can take to parks and picnic areas.  It's also a whole lot less expensive -- about $40 as compared with $260 or so for the Portable Kitchen.  But I'd consider both of them a bit small for your purposes -- they're a good size for 2 - 4 folks, but you'll get into trouble if you try to cook for larger groups, like a family cookout or something.  I'd suggest the Old Smokey Jumbo, which has a 22" grill, or maybe something like a 22 1/2" Weber One-Touch.  My personal preference is the Weber, mostly because I don't like bending over to cook.  I've used Webers for years with good results.  

-- Whitestag