I believe my Weber Genesis grill (about $450, incl. cover and a 2nd tank) stacks up very well against most of the $800-1000 grills on the market. I have a few friends who have these monster grills with lots of bells and whistles and pretty much grill steaks and burgers for 4-6 people at a time. You can do all of that and more with a simple Weber gas grill. Spend the extra $500 on meat.

I also have a small electric Brinkman smoker. A pretty low-end model. I grill several times a week but only smoke 4-5 times a year. One of these years, I'll upgrade, but for now, the little guy does a small brisket or a couple slabs of ribs just fine.

My tips, which some of you have already covered:

- If your wife insists on 95% lean ground beef, you'll need to dope the meat with bread crumbs at a bare minimum. Although I tend to go light on sauces and marinades with beef, super-lean hamburger really needs some help! So we mix in bread crumbs, garlic, rosemary, and perhaps a little sauce.

- Handle the meat on the grill as little as possible. It might take a while to get to know your grill, but once you figure out where to place and how long it will take to properly grill big, thick burgers, you should only have to flip them 1 time. Same holds true for any meat - the less you need to jack with it, the better off you'll be.

- Toss hamburger or hotdog buns onto a cooler section of the grill to toast them. Very easy to do and it adds to the overall presentation. If you wish you may butter or oil them lightly before putting them on the grill.

- All sorts of fruits & veggies work well on the grill. Last night, we did sliced squash, direct-grilled, and then tossed in olive oil with garlic. Also did corn - lots of ways to do corn both in & out of the husk. Last week, we did bananas and pineapple on the grill. A light lime sauce to finish the bananas and a coconut milk, cinnamon, and sugar sauce for the pineapple.

- Grilled portabella mushrooms rule. Go with either an olive oil / garlic / rosemary marinade or with some Asian flavors. A big mushroom and some grilled slices of good bread and you are well on your way to a filling and flavorful vegetarian sandwich.

- Try a smoker pouch (soaked wood chunks wrapped in foil with a few holes poked in it) with anything you plan to slow-cook on the grill. On my Weber, I drop it below the grate on the Flavorizer bars. On a charcoal grill, the pouch can rest in the coals. On other gas grills, check the user manual: it probably tells you where to put the pouch. (Generally, below the food but above and not resting on the gas tubes themselves.) Some high-end grills have a built-in metal box for wood chips.

- Milder fruit woods work well with chicken and fish. Stronger stuff like hickory or mesquite rocks with beef. You don't have to be on a mission to spend the day smoking meat to slip a little smoker pouch onto the grill. Unless you are using a smoking recipe that specifically asks for something different, just use 1 pouch. Late in the cooking process the meat isn't taking more smoke flavor in anyway.

- If you are using propane, the 2nd tank is a huge convenience. Well worth it if you grill often. Find a place that refills your tanks directly - not a place that requires you to swap for their tanks. Look for equipment rental places or ask at your local hardware store. If the hardware store doesn't do it, they will know who does.

- If you are rigging a seriously high-end or permanent-fixture unit, look into running a natural gas line from your house. Most grills can handle this with the addition of a simple adapter to account for the different orifice size.