Lotus Grill?? Or, non gas grill for balcony - For 2

I was looking at the Lotus Grill. Basically, I would like a non gas grill (so, electric vs Charcoal) that is super easy, easy to clean (if possible), not for any complicated or too involved cooking. Pretty basic stuff. Is there a recommended electric or Charcoal (Lotus Grill TYPE - meaning easy as possible, and small) that would be worth getting? Or, is this just not something that is out there, no matter what people say about how great some of these options are?

I just want the option of doing some stuff outside in the nicer weather. Cannot have gas on our balcony in our town.

The Lotus Grill “seems” a good option, but is it really as good as the reviews say? Or is a Weber electric grill (small ones) a better way to go? I’m talking the basics, like: Hamburgers, steaks, chicken, veggies … (have recently been doing the “oven first” steaks and then searing. So, would one of these work better than the other for this simple task?)

Thanks for any input.

Kinda weird, I’d think charcoal would be considerably more hazardous than propane, especially in a confined area like a balcony.

If you can stomach the thought of using electric, I’d just go with that. Inferior results, but easier cook, prep, and cleanup. Charcoal would be nice, but snuffing fires, disposing of ash/partially-spent coals, not to mention the amount of smoke that would pour alongside your building (you’ll make friends or enemies quickly if anyone has a window open when lighting charcoal).

As far as which grill, that lotus looks neat, I’ve never cooked on one though, can’t say for sure. Looks like it may be a bit fussy for me with all the contraptions. I’d recommend sticking with one of the $50 charcoal grills from the hardware store myself. Which is more like “hey we have a metal box and we welded legs and an ash-catcher to it. enjoy!” The huge perk of charcoal cooking is the ease of use. Something to hold the coals, and a grate. Easy.

Thanks Nick,

My wife set me straight on this. Not allowed to have Propane OR Charcoal. So, electric is the only choice. Not sure if I would go with Electric, rather than nothing at all. Weber has a small electric that looks ok. Just sucks that we can’t have propane. The one window above our balcony is NEVER open…not once since we moved here in 1999. They are a brother/sister couple who are seriously nuts. And I have tried to reason with them, but no dice. Hell, they even make complaints if someone comes to pick me up and parks on her side of the driveway for a minute or so until I come out.

Your complex should have open or green spaces that allow for grilling. Nice neighbors!

Not a complex Nancy. Just a typical NJ town…one house after another and another and another, into another town, more houses, more…

And the crazy thing about the tenants in the top floor is that actually are nice. Took me about 7 years to figure it out though. They are nice. But they are just nuts. They just hide it better than I do.

if it’s just for two, I recommend getting as small a grill as possible. It’ll heat up faster and be easier to clean.

I don’t know what type of cooking you do but one idea to consider is a portable, Japanese style grill like the on you see in sushi restaurants. You could use t indoors under your hood.

Livart LV-982 Electric Barbecue Grill, Orange
Link: http://amzn.com/B004GZ29SG

George Foreman

I don’t think you lose that much by using an electric vs. gas. After all, you’re not getting any flavoring from the gas flame, all you care about is that there is good heat. I some ways, an electric has the advantage of no hot/cold spots.