MECO Americana 9325U8.181 Portable Compact Easy Clean 200 Square Inch 3 Heating Zone Electric Cart Grill with Two Folding Tables and Wire Shelf, Red

I purchased this on Amazon to use outside on my deck inside of a screened-in gazebo. I had read all the reviews and looked at all the other electric grills for sale. I had a nice Amazon gift certificate so I figured I didn't have too much too lose. I am so happy I bought this grill! The assembly was pretty easy, although putting the wheels on was a little tricky. I found it best to hold the wheel nut with a pair of needle nosed pliers and then hammer the nut on the axle pin. It took a few tries but I finally got them on. I let it heat up for about 10-15 minutes then I put on some salmon steaks that I had marinated in soy sauce and maple syrup. I cooked them for about 7-9 minutes with the lid down and then flipped them and cooked them another 7-9 minutes. Let me tell you, this was the best tasting salmon I have ever had! There were nice grill marks and the salmon was char-grilled to perfection (I like mine well-done). I was so excited with how the salmon cooked, after dinner I cooked some chicken breasts I had marinated in barbecue sauce. Again, great char-grilled chicken! I am sold on this electric grill after using it for only one day. Hopefully it will hold-up and continue to perform well. I recommend this grill without reservation. UPDATE: I have now had this grill for over 2 months and have used it over 20 times. I still absolutely love the way it cooks the food, but I have found a couple of issues that might bump my original review from 5 stars to 4. First, the reflector pan tends to collect some char and other "debris" from cooking that will flame-up. It's important to try to clean this periodically, which is not as easy as I would like. I have actually had to put out the flames with water on occasion. Also, the aluminum foil pan that sits under the grill to catch drippings developed a small hole which was easily fixed by lining it with some new foil - not a big deal at all. I still recommend this grill and will continue to use it 3-4 times a week! UPDATE #2: After about 3 months of very heavy use the heating element burned-out. I emailed the company and they immediately sent me a replacement heating element at no charge (thanks to the 1 year warranty). It looks like they changed the design slightly to avoid future problems. As long as I had the thing torn apart I figured it was time to do a thorough cleaning of the aluminum reflector which had gobs of baked on char build-up. I soaked it in the sink and then used a wide blade screwdriver to scrape off all the gunk. It took a little bit of effort but was well worth it to keep this grill working its best. I still think this is a great grill from a great company that stands behind its product!

This grill arrived around 1:00 P.M. today and by 3:00 P.M. I had already used it. I am a 63 year old female who lives alone. This being said to alleviate the fear of assembly. If I can read and understand the directions then an average person with some knowledge of small hand tools ( phillips head screw driver, pliers, small hammer) should have no problem. It went together perfectly. My greatest challenge was getting the axle nuts on the wheels. Everything else was basic nuts and bolts being secured to one another. The cart is the only thing that required assembly. The grill comes completely assembled. You just put in 4 screws to secure it to the cart. I put it on the patio plugged it in and allowed it to cook off any packaging grease for about 15 minutes before using it for the first time. Then I inserted a temperature probe into it and let it get as hot as it seemed to be able to. It topped out at 425 degrees. Now I did have hamburgers ready to go on by this time too. So I opened it up and put them on. My burgers are not thin little things, they are a good 1/2 inch thick. The temp dropped back down to 300, but as soon as the lid was back in place the temp immediately returned to 400 within seconds. The burgers took about 10 minutes to cook through. I did flip them after about 5 minutes. I like my burger without a pink center and they were cooked perfect. The drippings created smoke that made the burgers taste like they were cooked over charcoal. There was one small flare up that went out almost immediately. The smoke was minimal and what I would expect of any grill cooking fatty meat. The burner unit is adjustable and moves completely to the back of the grill in a vertical position. This leaves the whole bottom of the grill open. This one does not have the rotisserie, but with the burner unit positioned at the back a chicken placed on a beer, or coke can can easily be cooked in the standing up position. Just set it in a small pan to protect the bottom of the grill, and make removal of the bird easier. Now you can roast a chicken at home just like they do at many grocery stores. Oh, after cooking the burgers I left the grill on for about 30 minutes to burn off the drippings on the burner unit and cooking grid. Before opening the grill I checked the temp again with my smoker thermometer and it was at 470 degrees. It was so hot that the exterior handle could have used a pot holder to protect my fingers. I know I am going to be using this little baby for everything. It is not flimsy or poorly constructed either, if you take care of it, it should last a long time.

This Meco "Americana" replaced a supposedly higher end model CharBroil Patio Bistro that went bad after 2 years (coil went out). Note: It's made in the USA -- A major consideration, especially these days. While the Meco "Americana" doesn't feel as substantial as the CharBroil, it is a FAR better grill in terms of heat distribution and cooking time. It assembles in about 20 minutes with basic tools and really isn't complicated. As with most any grill, you need to cook a couple of times to season it. It's better with each use. I am going to buy a spare reflector drip pan, as it looks like the original will need replacing after about a year, if I can't get it cleaned up. It does get some build up, rather than allowing the drippings to drain out into the drip cup. Operationally, that's my only concern. I'm only giving it 4 stars because I just feel the price point is rather high -- about $50 too high, in my opinion. But if you need a larger electric that will sear a steak medium (you really can't get a charred rare steak on an electric) this is it. The Char Broil's grill surface is too closed up and can't get it done. Veggies grill up GREAT on the Americana on medium heat.