Not-Quite-Adventures in BBQ Assembly

Now that I live in a house with a yard, I thought I'd invest in a charcoal grill.

Yesterday at Target I moseyed back to the seasonal section and found the BBQ aisle. They had lots of grills in various sizes and shapes. Propane? No thanks. My dad was always a charcoal man back in his grilling days (pre-condo life), and I intend to follow in his footsteps.

I didn't want a big fancy grill. I don't really know what I'm doing, and I don't want to get in over my head financially. I don't need a $80 grill. I don't need to spend $80. I know that Weber is a trusted brand in grills, but they're a little too expensive for my tastes. Even the tiny little ones were $30. You know - those little ones that sit just above the ground, where you have to sit down on the ground to even use them. Those are $30. They probably have enough surface area to cook one hamburger patty at a time.

But then I saw a short little square grill. It probably comes up to about my mid-thigh, so I don't have to sit down to use it (but if I had a lawn chair, I could). It's not a Weber. It's Thermos brand - which is funny, since I didn't know they made anything other than a... well, a thermos. It's big enough for a few burgers or brats, and I think it will serve my needs well. Like the little Weber, this guy was also $30.

I bought the other necessary accouterments. BBQ tools like a flippy spatula thing, tongs, skewers, that sort of thing. I bought coals and lighter fluid. I bought brats and turkey burgers and buns and potato salad and chips (well, technically I already had the turkey burgers). I'm ready to go.

Today I opened the box that the grill came in. As a person who has purchased and assembled many things from IKEA, I was certain I could handle anything this box could throw at me.

Wait a minute, what does that say? "Tools needed: Screwdriver (not included) and open ended wrench (not included)." What are these tools of which it speaks? Ok, I have a screwdriver. Somewhere. And we're not talking orange-juice-and-vodka here. But I don't own a wrench. Open-ended or otherwise.

I call my dad, naturally, because that's what you're supposed to do in these situations. He told me what an open-ended wrench is (it's just a wrench, really) and gave me some tips on how to actually use the grill once it's assembled. That's good, since I've never actually done this before.

I still haven't assembled the grill. I'm afraid of it now. It has so many little pieces. And I don't have a wrench. But I figure that's one of those things I should have. I should go buy a wrench. Then maybe, one of these days, I'm going to get to actually have some adventures in grilling.