Okay, so my niece(who I love dearly) has been getting on my case about writing a blog rather than Facebooking all my comments, so here I am, dusting the cobwebs off this neglected blog and hopefully putting in more time at it!
Lately, I've been looking high and low in Bangalore for an inexpensive barbecue grill. My preference was for an LPG grill, because it's clean and convenient. But the only one I was able to even glimpse in Bangalore, outside of the expats' homes, was a Weber priced at INR65000(about $1300). A Weber dome charcoal grill is INR13,000 plus the necessary addons which bring it up to about INR20000($400). I was able to locate a guy on eBay who was selling a sort of knockoff for much less, about INR4000, but he apparently has run out of stock. So here I am, hankering for a home-grilled burger or chicken drumstick, with my least expensive option seeming to be the Weber charcoal grill.
So in searching for alternatives, I came across a Sears page in the Google results, with the perfect sort of basic LPG-fired grill(see pic below) that I want priced at an unbelievable INR6433($129)! And the page said that Sears ships internationally, and that there are no hidden costs.
Now I'm thinking, if I can get this bad boy here for under INR10000, complete with the little LPG tank and piezoelectric ignition(Look, Ma! No soot!), we're in business! So I go to the checkout, which redirects me to an outfit called FiftyOne, which apparently handles Sears' overseas transactions and logistics. At checkout, I find out that my little $129 gas grill will suck out more cash than I'm willing to pay to get it:
All told, it seems that the INR6433($129) would balloon up to just a shade over INR20000($400) if I wish for the privilege of outdoor gas grilling in Bangalore. Still seems like a bargain when you look at the other alternative, the $1300 Weber, but I just can't get my head around paying $400 for a $129 grill. Oh well, back to the search!
UPDATE:
I bought a charcoal grill(like the one pictured above), and messed around with the charcoal and the much-touted Weber fire-starter and Weber briquettes. After a good deal of frustration- and swearing and hand-washing- I decided to abandon it. Don't know whether it's the quality of the charcoal or something I'm doing wrong, but I just couldn't keep the coals alive. Finally, I was able to locate a gas grill(Trade Links Corp., 79 SJP Road) at the reasonable price of Rs. 7500(lava rock, gas regulator and other accessories extra). I have been able to grill on it several times, less than I would have liked to but for the gusty monsoon breezes which dissipate the heat, but am happy with it thus far. It's big enough to grill for half-a-dozen people at once, and light enough to carry indoors when necessary. I need to find a waterproof, UV-stable cover for it, though.
UPDATE: Weber seems to be selling smaller gas grills here now. I spotted one at a place in Indiranagar called MK Ahmed on CMH Road, between 100 Ft Rd and 80 Ft Rd. It's similar in size to the one pictured above, with a cast iron grate and a stainless steel burner that runs in a square ring around the bottom of the pan, which is nice, because it eliminates the cold spots typically found toward the outsides of the cooking surface plus it minimizes flareups from dripping fat. It was priced at approximately INR26,000. A bit pricey still, but not too bad for Weber quality, and definitely a bunch more affordable than their bigger grills.
P.S.: I'd often had difficulties finding computer parts and equipment in Bangalore, and finally my go-to place became The Computer Warehouse at Barton Court on MG Road. But even they didn't always have what I needed(sometimes an archaic part like a fax modem), and besides I like when there is a little competition. You get better prices when it's not the only store for miles around. Recently, I located a whole street full of computer stores in the KR Market area which has just about anything you might need. It's a street called Sadar Patrappa Road(Google Map), but be prepared to deal with the full range of dirt, trash and stench as you navigate your way inland from the main road. Any port in a storm, as the saying goes!
Sadar Patrappa Road
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