The question kept coming up over and over as we exited our vehicles each day during the summer afternoons, “Do you smell that?” The trash bin that had missed this week’s pick-up? No. The odor I was referring to is the mouth-watering aroma of backyard grills fired up in the neighborhood. When we left the rental house in Liverpool, New York we were forced to store our belongings in a storage space until the move to North Carolina. We were worried about storing the propane tank in a hot garage. The grill we had was also bit old so we gave it away rather than move it. It’s been an entire year without the amazing char-taste of wonderfully grilled food. I tried a stove top skillet with raised slats but it was nothing like the lick of the flame sealing in the juices of two pounds of London Broil. My wife knows me so well and has treated me to the perfect gift for our two year wedding anniversary. Not just a grill but a 46,000 BTU, 4-Burner Gas Grill with 671 sq. inches of total cooking area, enough room to cook 24 hamburgers at once. But not just ‘cooked’ hamburgers, Grilled hamburgers. And to all you still struggling through Syracuse winters; while your grill hides under a vinyl tarp covered in three feet of snow for six months a year, Charlotte allows for a much longer grilling season. I will be grilling my Christmas dinner over a beautiful open flame while you are waiting for the power to come back on once the ice has snapped lines in your area. The way to my heart is through my stomach. Excuse me, I have to flip my meal.