I also have/had the new shallow rectangular one that just came out. I really like it as a chaffing dish. However, cooking in it is a bit complicated as large hunks of meat did not come up to temperature quick enough because it was so shallow. For actual cooking, dishes that have lots of small even bits such as macaroni, gumbo etc are better. If you entertain a lot or have a very large family, I would recommend this as an excellent 9 x 13 chaffing dish without the open flame issue. It even has latches on the side if you need to bring it to potlucks. It has been making the rounds on my street as of July. I have a feeling that I may have trouble getting it back in time for Turkey day.