A Man and his Grill.

The grill is the glory tool of masculine cooking. When a man steps in front of his Grill, you'd think he'd invented fire instead of just using it to cook a few steaks. But that's what's so great about grilling: The techniques are healthy, the food is sublime, and the credit you receive is as high as the heat. Maybe that's why every country has its own ways of coaxing gems from the coals. From the spicy salsas of South America to the herb-smoked meats of the Middle East, our culinary world tour is delicious proof that there is nothing better (or easier) than taming the flame.

I have been wanting a gas grill for the backyard for quite sometime. Our family really enjoys having food prepared on the grill. Unfortunately, I have been using a little Weber Charcoal grill for the past 2 seasons. Charcoal grilling has a nice flavor but the time inconveniences and bagged charcoal make gas grilling much more appealing.

Last week I began the search for a quality Vermont Casting Grill. On Friday I found one on Craigslist and Maureen and I went by and worked out a deal with the owner. Unfortunately, it wouldn't fit int he car and I had to go back on Sunday to pick it up. We were very pleased with the grill and it cleaned up very nice. I look forward to many years of enjoyable outdoor cooking on our new grill.

The Vermont Castings VM450 is a sophisticated top-end model, which will provide a truly enjoyable grilling experience. This unit has all the bells and whistles and an ultra-large 600-square-inch cooking surface that will be the envy of the neighborhood.

With five burners and 48,000 Btu of cooking power, the VM450 is always ready to grill. This unit has an all-stainless-steel exterior, including a heavy-duty hood, cabinet console, side shelves with condiment trays and slide-out front storage drawer. An LP tank sits nestled inside the cabinet, leaving extra storage space where you can keep utensils, trays and other non-combustible supplies.

This grill comes equipped with a 15,000-Btu side burner, which is handy for cooking baked beans, heating sauces, sauteing onions or any other stovetop-type cooking desired.

With four burners, the VM450 quickly heated up surpassing the thermometer's 600-degree Fahrenheit mark in less than 15 minutes. Since each burner is operated independently, you can easily adjust the temperature to achieve the desired results with whatever foods you are cooking.

The 16.5x36-inch cooking surface is divided into four removable grids, each having a handy thumb-notch for convenient removal. The enamel-coated cast-iron grids were wide enough to accommodate larger items such as steaks while also keeping smaller items, such as shrimp or cut vegetables from falling through.

Performance-wise, the VM450 is superb. All areas of the grill were evenly heated so our foods in the front cooked as well as those in the back and on the sides. The burners run from front to back, rather than side to side, and tented sear grids sit just above each burner to help fan out the heat.

Additional features on the Vermont Castings VM450 include a handy 15x23-inch side shelf, two 4.25x15-inch front condiment trays, two magnetic closing cabinet doors, a 7x36-inch wire warming rack, and a 7x22-inch front slide-out drawer, which is perfect for holding utensils. Alternatively, you can hang the cooking utensils on either side of the grill using the notched hangers.

The sturdy cart is enclosed on all sides with two magnetic-close front doors. Another feature that is definitely worth mentioning is the handy light feature, which provides an orange glow around the burner rings and also a separate cook light for easy nighttime grilling. Four swivel casters make maneuvering the grill easy from any direction. The casters can also be locked by stepping on the lock lever so the grill will stay put.

All-in-all, the VM450 is an excellent performer and, for all it delivers -- in quality stainless-steel materials, amount of grilling space and extra features -- this unit is also a great value.

This Jet Powered Grill for High Octane Parties