If you're ready for a brand-new barbecue, you'll first have to choose your side in the classic debate among grill gourmands: charcoal or gas?

The answer may depend on what you most like to cook, says Tim Queisser, owner of Grill N Go, a picnic-catering arm of the Northside's Snooty Fox restaurant.

If you love the taste of smoked ribs and chicken, a hooded charcoal grill works wonders. Savor steak? Go for a gas grill with lava-rock heat distribution. "That cooks more uniformly, and faster," Queisser said. "And you don't have flame-up either."

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