I would recommend the weber. I know that it cost more than 300 but this grill will last you 10 years or more. Any other grill you get will need replacing within 3-5 years. Take a look at the weber forums at virtualweberbullet. They have a gas grill section. If I had found that site I would have gone straight to the charcoal and skipped my gas grill purchase. Try searching in Craigs list. I always see weber gas grills going for cheap. I currently own a Weber WSM smoker, a One Touch Gold 22 and a Thermos/Charbroil gasser.

I would suggest buying a Kamado Charcoal grill from Costco for about $100 more. Last a lifetime, grills and smokes better than any gas grill. Easy to clean. Using a Weed Torch it is ready to go every bit as fast as any gas grill.

I kept my trusty Weber for about a year when I bough mine, and it quickly became a charcoal storage unit. Things that the egg-shaped cookers do "better" than a kettle or gas grill, are, in my biased opinion, and in no particular order: * High temperature sear -- I can easily get the coals to a yellow-orange temperature. It is hot enough that the stainless-steel grill "self cleans" and I get a beautifully marked and seared steak. * Capacity -- I can easily get a 25# turkey *and* four full slabs of ribs into mine (equivalent of a 22 1/2" Weber grill size) * Temperature control -- with the top and bottom dampers, I can much more easily control fire temperature than I ever could on a charcoal kettle. I can be at 700 deg (dome) temperature and shut it down to a 400 deg "dwell" in a minute or two -- basically puts the fire out and cooks using the heat stored in the dome (this also means that unused charcoal is not consumed) -- see warning below * Cook pizza -- Real pizza. 700 deg isn't at all hard to obtain and maintain. * No cover needed -- It's pool tile. Hose it off with the pressure sprayer from time to time. Disadvantages -- its harder to have a "hot" side and a "cold" side. It is clearly cooler around the edges when using it as a grill and I generally deal with it that way. WARNING -- Get yourself a good set of mitts and a ideally a fire-resistant apron, and always, always look away when opening any charcoal-fired cooker of any sort that has been "shut down" in this manner. The high temperatures that remain can "vaporize" all kinds of combustibles, that basically burst into flame when the oxygen rushes in when you open the top. Think turning on the gas in the oven and then tossing in a match. It has never happened to me, but I'd hate to find out that I lost the roll of the dice. Here is a link that might be useful: Cooker Flashback

I would go with cast iron as well. Cast iron is actually very easy to care for as long as you know how. - Never use soap on it except perhaps during initial cleaning and seasoning. - Scrape with a metal spatula right after use and get either steel wool or one of these abrasive scouring pads to scrub under hot water if necessary. - *Never* put a hot cast iron pan in water or pour water into/onto it. For me 90% of the time, a simple scrape and rinse is enough. Sometimes just wiping it down is sufficient. The key is to leave the oils on it because that's what keeps it from rusting. If your pan starts to look dull after washing, heat it up to dry it off completely and rub in a thin coat of oil using a paper towel. Applying heat is important to get rid of any moisture that could get trapped under the oil you are applying. After apply the oil, heat until it starts to smoke, then turn off and let cool. If you have anything crusted on, you can soak the pan for a bit but I'd avoid leaving it overnight. If you fill the pan with hot water and set it on the stove to boil for a minute or two, even the crustiest pan can be easily cleaned. Then just follow the steps above to apply a new thin coat of oil to refresh the seasoning. Good luck.