I want an egg. But damn that thing is expensive. I still think that gas is better for the casual user who just wants to make things hot. I’ll still probably use it for most uses, but some day I expect to have a BGE to crank out stellar steaks, slow cooked ribs and turkeys…
I was raided on charcoal, and it is certainly my preference. However, we have a gas grill and I would rather lose a kidney than give it up. We can grill 3 times a week or more, and that makes up for the sub-optimal flavor and texture.
My wife would not let me get two grills…but now I have the gas grill and my charcoal smoker. Damn, that’s good. Plus, it can be re-arranged to work as a charcoal grill, so I can do that on occasion as well.
Example: last weekend, we went camping (at an SCA event), and on friday, I grilled some Thai chicken tenderloins for dinner, and then smoked a brisket all day Saturday for the evening meal. We were the envy of everyone.
Well, I think the $1200-$4500 built in Gas BBQ’s are just stupid American consumption at work.
$150 Gas Grill will last exactly 4 seasons, after which it’ll cumble into a small pile of rust.
We bought a $250 uni-flame grill last year and it seems to be holding up…so we’re trying to find the economic law of returns on gas grills.
Charcoal, however. That’s what we use when we CARE about what we’re eating. We’ve been snobbified by Alton Brown’s episode on grilling. I’ve got a chimney, I use lump charcoal. My only cirticism is: I can’t make a fire well enough to slow cook a large piece of meat.
The Charcoal grill was $50 at an end-of season sale. Knock yourself out and get both. 
We had some friends over planning on bbqing lunch and dinner. The brauts were on the grill late (1pm) and we filled up on snacks. So they slow cooked for about 2.5-3 hours on the Charcoal grill. Sweet jeebus Johnsonville never tasted so good. (Pink ring and everything).
Charcoal lets you actually grill the food; propane is broiling. There is a difference.
There’s really no reason to use propane; it has to heat for almost the same amount of time it takes charcoal to be ready. And the taste is definitely better – no gas flavor (I assume, of course, you don’t use lighter fluid).
I used to be a Charcoal True Believer, but hated the inconvenience. Then I saw a few years back that Consumer Reports did a blind taste test between charcoal and gas cooked food, and the results showed no superiority for charcoal, or really any difference at all. (I’m trying to google up a cite for this, but I’m coming up dry; I’ll keep looking.)
I was given a very good gas grill probably four years as a Father’s Day gift. I’ve never looked back. The food tastes great, as good as charcoal, and the convenience is very nice.
Mr. Blank, 
Email me and I'll point you to a site that'll make sure you can make that fire perfectly. I've been smoking briskets, ribs, pork loin, fish....etc, etc for as long as I can remember (At least 25 years). My email is kaoticnew @ hotmail dot com. Take care my friend!
-brian
We had a couple of these when I was a kid, a big one on the back porch and a small one that we would take on the boat sometimes. My dad flew cargo planes in the Air Force and brought them back from Japan. Brought a few as gifts for friends, too. And whoever’s importing them now and calling them a “Big Green Egg” may not have even been born at the time.
Cool, my dad was an early-adopter.