(4.2 / 5)
Finding the perfect portable grill is a difficult proposition because they each offer a different look at what is important in a grill because of their low price points you can’t focus on too many issues. Char-Broil with their experience made a pretty intelligent choice with this portable gas grill. If someone is looking for a portable grill, why not maximize the potential for flavor from the cooking? With this in mind this grill uses TRU-Infrared cooking to evenly cook your meals with less flare ups which results in tasty mean still packed with all the natural juices from your food.
We don’t have a tremendous amount of space for cooking with the emphasis on portability, but this grill is still perfectly capable of delivering a great meal for a small family even if you may have to cook things separately and you will probably need another space close by for storing finished food since this grill is extremely low on storage space. This grill also comes with its own stand to sit at a height comparable to high end grills. An affordable choice for any customer who is looking for a grill that can move and still brings the flavor of a grill that cost much more at the expense of space.
Main Characteristics
Char Broil can be a bit of a hit or miss company when it comes to delivering high quality grills at a good price point. This is one of their better efforts thanks to the strength of their choices with this model. The most important thing here is the TRU-Infrared heating that keeps your meals nice and evenly heated. This is very impactful when it comes to maximizing the flavor of your grill and puts it a couple steps above your standard gas grill setup that is much more prone to flare ups.
The biggest issue here is the size of the cooking surface which shouldn’t be much of an issue depending on your purpose. With a 240 square inch primary cooking surface and a 80 square inch secondary heating rack you only have enough space for eight to twelve burgers or four good sized steaks. With a stainless steel cooking grate you we have a great material for cooking that allows you to prepare meat without having to worry about sticking. Just make sure you heat it up before the first use so you burn off the oil. The burner and grill grate combination puts this grill around the top tier for grills in this price range.
Pro’s
- TRU-Infrared allows for flavorful cooking that surpasses the majority of portable grills
- Stands at a good height for cooking without worrying about a raised surface
- Doesn’t take up much space fitting nicely into any backyard, patio, or deck setup
Con’s
- You don’t have too much grilling space so it can work for tailgating, but not great for a neighborhood barbecue
- Can be a bit dangerous to use if you are not familiar with how gas grills work
- Paint is not heat resistant, along with other issues that will have this grill looking well worn after only a few uses
Design
The design of this grill is quite polarizing as it has many great attributes along with some puzzling issues that will have a significant effect on how much you enjoy using this grill. Starting with the positives we have a black classic grill design that won’t astound anyone but still looks pretty good for the price point. The silver legs and control panel add a little bit of variety to the traditional look.
Staying with the legs one side goes into a couple heavy duty wheels for mobility though they do not have locking mechanisms. That is ok though because the other side leads into a long bar support that should do well to keep this grill in place especially since it only weighs about 54 pounds. Also sitting at 38 inches tall we have a pretty good height for grilling that is nice for a portable grill without purchasing a stand.
On the negative end the paint is not heat resistant so you will experience some bubbling and that will take away from the overall appeal. Even worse this grill can be downright dangerous. The controls are not as intuitive as they should be and this combined with a questionable O ring can lead to issues. If you dont set it correctly you can build up gas without realizing it leading to a small spark creating a massive fire bomb. A recall lead to better controls, though depending on the model you still might need to replace the O ring for better safety.
Special Features
Since this is a model focused on portability and pricing we don’t have a load of special features here to help this grill differentiate from the pack. The most notable we have already talked about a bit and thats the infrared heating. Outside of that we have a nice temperature gauge mounted on the hood for accurate heat reading. We also have a towel bar that is great for storing your grill tools on hand. Easy light ignition allows for some pretty cook heating though you still want to give this grill about five minutes to warmup before you start cooking. Finally you can throw some wood chips in while grilling to kick the taste up even higher.
Image Credit: Amazon.com
Char-Broil Patio Bistro
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Summary
In the quest for the perfect portable grill Char Broil has a true contender here. With the infrared cooking and design the level of flavor is quite spectacular to find in a portable grill. Especially when you consider a price tag that sits comfortably around $140 (look to compare grills under $500). Throw in a stinaless steel grate and you have a grill with great materials where it matters most. Though at the same time the propane control issues can be a problem if you are not knowledgable enough to manuever around them.
As long as you can deal with that however we have a really nice grill for feeding a small amount of people with its relatively small 240 square inch cooking surface. If you are a couple with the kids out of the house or a solitary home owner this is a very good buy for anyone as long as you are aware of the issues that can arise.