Solaire SOL-EV17A Everywhere Portable Infrared Propane Gas Grill, Stainless Steel

I live in an 850 square foot apartment, with a small deck, so having a small propane barbecue grill is essential. I used to use the Weber Go Anywhere Grill, but as I found out when I tried to replace my worn out (10 year old) Go Anywhere Grill, Weber changed the design, and the newer model burns everything. I have tried several small barbecues (other than Weber), and they are all imported junk. For example, the Cuisinart CGG-180T actually has a plastic knob for the propane/temperature control, which lasted about 7 months then just fell off. I was so frustrated, I just threw the whole thing in the recycle bin, then went online and started looking for a portable propane barbecue made in the USA, hoping to find something worthwhile. Eventually, I found the Solaire SOL-EV17A Everywhere Portable Infrared grill. The size was perfect, and it seemed to be well made. I was a little worried at first, because I had never heard of an infrared grill before, however I went ahead an ordered the unit. Assembly was easy, and the instructions were good. Also, the cooking instructions were very detailed (important, since cooking with an infrared grill is a little different than cooking with a conventional gas grill - be sure to follow the instructions). My first steak was a boneless rib steak, and it came out wonderful. The meat had a great grilled flavor, and the appearance was like a restaurant cooked steak. To sum it up, the PROS are: 1. This unit is made in the USA, and is very well made (no cheap plastic parts). 2. The instructions are very good, and the cooking instructions detailed, so you can achieve good results the first time. They also make a cooking guide available on their website. 3. Solaire e-mailed me and made sure that I was getting good results with their product. First time a barbecue company has done that. The only CONS: 1. It takes a little more effort to use and maintain. Overall, I am very satisfied with this product, and highly recommend it for anyone looking for a small propane barbecue that give great results, is rugged, high quality, and will last a long time.

I have been buying and trying many different bbq grills for well over 25 years. Charcoal grills are not worth the fuss. The larger and more expensive weber gas grills cooked nice but I hated all the wasted warmup time and heating the entire grill when cooking for 2 or 3 was common. I also disliked that I couldn't get that same sear and char like you'd get at the steak house. This Solaire grill is the perfect size for my needs, cooks quickly, and best of all gets the perfect sear. The heat control is great. The grill feels solid, no cheap parts or shoddy workmanship as you would find on other compact grills. Some users complained about drippings and grease collecting at the bottom. While they recommend to clean from the top, I just drilled a hole in the bottom to allow for easy draining and cleaning. I have gotten rid of all of my other grills and only use this one for perfect results every time.

Hands down the best grill that I have ever owned, and I've probably owned more than a couple of dozen gas grills over the last 30 or 40 years. Having said that, this may or may not be the right grill for YOU. It has a fairly narrow temperature range and the lowest setting is still pretty hot. For instance, I tried to cook some cedar plank salmon on it and the planks were drying out and burning faster than the salmon was cooking. Pretty much what I expected, but wanted to verify my expectations ( my pellet grill and smokers work much better for the cedar plank stuff ). But this grill is the absolute bomb when you need a high temperature, for instance cooking frozen burger patties or searing sous vide steaks! It's also extraordinarily fuel efficient. I've accidentally left it on high at night to find it still going in the morning. Small enough to fit in an outside compartment on our camper and sturdy enough to handle the abuse associated with constant use at home, and going everywhere with us when we travel. FWIW: for lower temperature cooking the Cobb Grill ( it's really a smoker, not a grill ) is a great "traveling companion" for the Solaire COBB PREMIER with Bag & Roast Rack . updating my review after 4 more years: I'm 66 yrs old and this is still the best grill that I've ever owned. ( Somehow I've lost the regulator and am on a quest to find a new one, which brought me back here.... :)

Grilling is great. Does what it's supposed to, but needs a drain tray. Grease leaks everywhere...out the bottom and back of the grill.

This grill is an amazing ball of fire. It provides super heat, zero flareups, and the amazing thing is that it does so in such a small package. This is real, ceramic-based infra red heat--not the stainless steel stuff that just doesn't do the job. My biggest complaint about grills (this being the lone exception) is that they never get hot enough for me, and I really don't like closing the cover to make up for that. I like to see the fire and how the stuff is cooking in real time. In fact, this thing is so hot you really can't leave anything on it and just go away for a while. You kind of have to keep almost a constant eye on it. For me, that's the way it should be. As far as cleaning goes, it depends on what you think of as "clean." You can disassemble the whole thing--once you remove the side assembly where the gas enters (taking out only 2 screws), everything else, burner and all, snaps out and snaps back in. What you find when you take everything out is a varnish all over the bottom that you can only remove with oven cleaner. But I see no need to do that. The varnish doesn't look great, but it has no impact on anything. Grease never collects down there because the cooking surface is so hot.