Are you tired of burnt burgers and over cooked steak...

Are you tired of the dreaded flare-ups...

Are you tired of buying an new grill every 4 seasons...

Then you my friend need a Weber brand Gas grill with it's breakthough Flavorizer bars(no more "lava" rocks) and true three burner cooking (which lets you do direct and indirect cooking " like an outdoor oven")

Ok enough of the announcer, this is an excellent investment, yes I said investment. If you are new to outdoor cooking, tired of replacing your grill every 3-4 years because it is now a rusted relic or if you are a veteran of the coals and want to step up to a gas grill, this is the grill for you. The Genesis Silver line is the base line of gas grills and the C model includes a side burner. Feel free to compare Weber's upper line of grills if you want to spend more, but for an entry level grill this is it.
Why are three burners important? Three burners allows you to use two different cooking techniques: Direct and Indirect cooking. Direct grilling is what most of us are used to, you fire up the grill and all burners are on. This is fine for bugers and hotdogs, but what if you want to grill a turkey or a whole chicken? That is where the Indirect cooking comes in, you simply preheat the grill, then turn off the middle burner. Now you have a outdoor oven. You can time you food like you do in the oven and walk away, come back when the recipe says to to check, one hour or more, and the item you are cooking is done. Talk about expanding your grilling options (Try Weber's Beer Can Chicken sometime).
I did mention above no more flare-ups and no more "lava" rocks didn't I? The Weber grill uses angled bars which heat up and as the product you are grilling drips, the drip lands on the bar and the flavored "smoke" is added to you food. I never grilled very good until I purchased this grill.

The side burner option- do you need it?

I feel this is a definite personal preference but I love it. I don't know about you, but there is nothing worse then doing say Stir fry or bacon on your kitchen's cooktop, and unless you have a really good ventilation system, your home fills up with smoke. I have done great stir fry, bacon for bacon cheese burgers, beer battered onion rings, anything that makes a mess inside is 90 percent easier to cleanup outside and no worry of smoke.

The one downfall of this grill is the exclusion of a swing up shelf on the right side, which is available on the upper level series Weber grills as well as a new Premium grade Silver C. The shelf [which must be purcahsed seperatly]( I checked into it) but I was told that due to "licensing agreements with some home stores" you can not call Weber and purchase it.

Anyway, If you are in the market for a gas grill in this price range then this is your grill, Weber stands behind their products with a strong warranty program and if you have to put the grill together yourself it is really easy and requires no tools.

Ladies and Gentlemen....start you grill

After having just completed my fourth season with this grill, I am as pleased with it today as I was when I first brought it home. It is excellent, and provides easy grilling with the convenience of gas. I probably grill out 30-50 times a year (more in the summers, sometimes 4-5 days in a single week), and never tire of stepping onto the patio to fire up the Weber. It is easy to use and cooks great. The flavor is different from charcoal grilling, but is still definitely a unique grilled flavor. I would guess Webers flavorizer bars make this happen, but all I can say is that food is five-star!

When I first bought the grill while living in Colorado, I regretted shelling out for the side burner. I used it rarely, and then it was only for the novelty. Then I moved to Virginia, and now North Carolina, and have found the side burner indispensible. Who wants to fire up the stove when it's 90 degrees outside and the AC is working overtime just to keep the house temperate? Grilling takes the cooking heat outside, and the side burner does the same for your side dishes. I certainly don't use it every time, but when it gets used I'm glad I have it.

Deciding between charcoal and gas? With gas, you will grill more. Unless you're a retiree (or at least live a pretty quiet life), charcoal just adds a little extra hassle that raises the "grilling threshold" enough that some times when you might grill if you had gas, you don't grill at all. Yes, I'd like to add a charcoal grill to the ensemble, for those special times when it would be worthwhile (or when having a really big party), but having gas means the grilling gets done.

Unless you have a covered patio or deck, I recommend a cover as well. You don't have to buy it today, but get it within the first year. Your grill will last a lot longer if protected from the elements. Plus, if it's snowed recently, you can just pull the cover off and fire up the burners.

One final recommendation: turkey. It was only after I got married that I discovered it was possible to cook a turkey in the oven. If, like most people, you have the opposite experience and never knew it was possible to do a turkey on the grill, you owe it to yourself and your family to do the big bird outside. Not only is it easy, and not only does it provide an excellent meal with incredible flavor, but you also get a major dish out of the kitchen which tends to make the rest of the meal easier for those who are preparing it. I've done birds over 20 pounds on this grill with top-notch results. See Weber's website for instructions.

In short - yes, too late - this is a great grill. Hats off to Weber for continuing to set the standard for backyard BBQ.