charlesd

I've had a Holland Grill for over 10 years. I generally like the grill. Pros: Durable. I bought my Holland in 1997, and it's still going strong. Had to replace the bottom shell of the grill a couple of years ago. Holland shipped a kit for the entire lower shell of the grill, excluding burner, for something like $70. THeir service det is greeat to work with. No flare-ups. Can easily cook chicken for a crowd (with _no_ free space on the grid) with absolutely no worries about getting it over-done. I cook our Thanksgiving turkey on it every year with great results. Can be used as a large steamer -- I've steamed plenty of oysters on this thing. Can be adjusted to do a decent job of slow cooking (takes some fiddling with the burner). I've cooked a pork shoulder all day at 230 for out annual new year's dinner before. Cons: Absolutely impossible to sear anything on it. Can't cook a decent steak without first searing it in a hot cast-iron skillet on the side burner. Really, who wants to do that with a Gas grill? I use a weber charcoal grill whenever I want to sear.

Of course, BBC America started playing Boilig Point _last_ Sunday, so I missed the first hour. Looks like they're playing 2 episodes every Sunday at 10:00 and 10:30AM. Gotta go set the DVR... [edit] Looks like Beyond Boiling Point starts playing on 12/23 and runs through 1/13, after which they start showing Boiling point at episode 1.

^ Me too. Happy Charbroil electric user since around 97 or 98. Always intended to upgrade, but never got around to it. I filled the bottom with lava rocks for some thermal mass and don't use any liquid in the drip pan (read about that on some forgotten BBQ form). Turns out great carolina BBQ (I live in NC and am required to bring BBQ to tailgates). I smoke a couple of butts every new year's to go with the blackeyed peas and collard greens -- I clip a towel or old blanket around the smoker and it holds 220 just fine.

I'm looking forward to the viviace review. While all of the restarauns mentioned on this thread are great, Frazier's remains _my_ favorite -- Kevin accomodated an anniversary dinner for me with a tasting menu (when they didn't officially offer one for a short while after the remodel) that was simply fabulous. I haven't had a chance to check out Vivace yet, but I'm dying to get some babysitting time so we can head down there for dinner.

Another vote for waraji -- excellent sushi. Kashin is good, but I've had problems with really poor service the last couple of times I went there.