Blue Ember Fires Me Up
Pros:
Features, cooking power, dependability
Cons:
Perhaps maneuverability, bulky wings at times.
The Bottom Line:
Don't get the cheapest grill, spend in the mid range on this grill, and you'll be getting some top end features and good cooking power.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Want to fire up some hamburger, but drink a chilled beer at the same time? You can do it with the Fiesta Blue Ember because it has a cooler built into one of the wings. Because of features like that, cooking power, and its dependable operation, this grill has become my second kitchen.
It's got some good features that you might like. While you could put your beers into an ice bucket, it's interchangeable with a condiment tray. On the other wing, you could use a burner to boil corn. It also has an electrical outlet to plug a radio into, and a grill light in case you want to scorch some pineapple slices late at night. It's also made of stainless steel and looks good.
As far as cooking power goes, it has three different burner areas on the main range which is convenient for either cooling items, or cooking different kinds of foods together--perhaps cooking veggies on a lower setting than meat for example. It's almost 700 square inches of space, not huge, but more than ample enough for all but the biggest parties or families. At 45,000 BTU's you'll find it has enough power to cook anything you put on it.
In the year that I've had it, I've never had a problem with it. It fires up in all kinds of weather, from extreme cold to wind and it's never sputtered on me. It's been easy to use, with an easy to follow manual. Not only that, I actually put it together myself, and I'm not exactly a mechanic.
As far as downsides go, I might say that it can be a bit unwieldy at times to move around. While it's easy enough to maneuver on the patio, it was more difficult to get it all the way around the side of my house and into the garage for the winter. In part this has to do with weight and/or that it's not made for four wheel drive terrain, of course. It's nice to have something solid with the weight, but the wings could be a bit easier to snap down which might make it easier to travel with and less bulky. If the wings came down easier, I might fold up one or both when they weren't in use, but I don't quite feel comfortable doing that with the Blue Ember.
Nevertheless, these things are relatively trivial, and you can rest assured that your $449 is well spent (I bought mine at Home Depot), and relax back on the patio this summer, with the Blue Ember.
