Serious Discussion....

I wanted left to right versus Weber's back and front. Thats why I didnt get a Weber. Now I think the higher end Summit Weber's are left to right, but I wasn't spending 1k-2k on a gasser I rarely use. I have a Perfect Flame that I got at Lowes. I am happy with what I use it for. It has 5 burners and can get hot enough to cook steaks and works great for lots of hamburgers for parties. Its been through hell and I dont take care of it like my other cookers and it has held up for the last 5 years. It is similar to this one.

Not sure Weber was the "cadillac of grills", but they are nice. You have a good budget, these are one of the best you can get:

http://www.lynxgrills.com

Enjoy.

I looked at gassers early this spring and was really disappointed from a quality standpoint. Have an old decrepit Sunbeam with side by side burners. One thing I always liked about it was both the base and lid were cast aluminum so it held heat well. Cooking grates are 3/8" welded steel rod, and you could get them red hot for a good sear.

Now, I'll admit I didn't look at Weber's. But of those I did look at, I saw thin bases, flimsy painted sheet metal lids on the low to mid range and then lots of ill-fitting shiny stainless steel. Wife called them "patio bling"; to impress the neighbors and friends. About the only one I took a second look at were the Char-Grillers.

I'm still using the Sunbeam, and cruising CL for an older gasser that I can clean up and restore with new grates and burners.

Chris

Yak, I do not have anything very nice, and I do NOT want to take this off topic, since that is the point of the title, but my buddy has a Lynx set up like the Snoqual referenced which is very nice, but my tiny exposure to high end grills makes me remember the infra-red rotisserie on Phil's grill.

That is one sweet add on.

Good luck with your search