Audio By Carbonatix
You can pretend you’re still plugged in at the office, but we all know you’re not. July 4th is just hours away, the weather is cool for this time of year and all of you are watching the clock while you lust for your grills. Tomorrow promises to be the biggest grilling day in the history of Dallas.
It’s decent timing that Bloomberg Businessweek published an article on the history of the most ubiquitous American grill. The Weber kettle got its start 61 years ago when some guy named George Stephen turned a metal buoy into a hot box for hot dogs. Now there’s a black kettle in nearly everyone’s back yard.
They’re not quite as sturdy as they used to be. Parts sourced in China stripped the company of of it’s “Made in USA” label and the wheels seem like they could fall off any instant as of late. Of course, if you complain about things like that you’ll be complaining a lot lately. The red Solo plastic cups you’ll likely be swilling from are much thinner these days, too.
Last summer when I wrote about grills I didn’t have one at all. This summer I’ve got a rickety secondhand Weber whose legs won’t stay in place when I move it across the yard. It’s a hobo grill that’s starting to rust, with a cooking grate that’s in serious need of replacement. And yet, every time I strike a match and hold it to the bottom of a charcoal chimney I’m filled with an anticipation that seems especially heightened by the process of cooking over a fire I’ve built myself. Hopefully your cookout will harness that same type of excitement, too.
Whatever you’re cooking on, enjoy your holiday. City of Ate will be quiet tomorrow but we’ll be back on Friday — maybe with a bit less arm hair and eyebrows.
