New ways to join the sky-high grilling club
Those condo-dwelling foodies who love to use the barbecue now have more options than ever
As countless condo-dwellers in the city know, space to grill — let alone sleep — is limited.
But as the 2016 grilling season kicks off, the industry will expand to greater heights as companies target a contingent of renters with tiny balconies. “Grill anywhere” products aim to downsize the square footage needed to host a spring barbecue, a rare occasion for many in Toronto’s downtown.
“It was always hard to find an opportunity to grill with anything better than a little hibachi,” says homeowner Stephen Rich of his time living in condos.
Not any more. Weber has a growing line of “grill anywhere” portable products for renters in the sky that includes its Q Series, notable for its photo-worthy rain- bow of colour options.
Space isn’t the only barrier for people grilling in towers who are also at the mercy of their landlords. While there are no restrictions on balcony barbecues under the city’s fire code, if a condo board or a building owner and property manager restricts use, renters and owners must abide.
The good news is taste-testers have given small electric grills the thumbs up.
Weber expert chef Michael P. Clive says it’s hard to taste the difference between food cooked on balconyfriendly grills and regular grills.
“You can have great grill results off a very little barbecue,” says Clive, who has experienced downtown grilling limitations himself, enjoying and losing balcony grilling privileges in his building.
If you don’t have permission, the city of Toronto has more than 20 parks to satisfy your grill envy, many equipped with grilling space for charcoal-grill fans such as Rich. Charcoal is an increasingly popular option among the grilling set, according to Weber. It’s an option many Canadians say results in the best-tasting barbecue.
“It’s all about flavour” with the charcoal grill, says Rich, who as brewmaster at Blyth, Ont.-based Cowbell Brewing Co. is all about flavour in his professional life as well. “It’s a much more raw form of cooking,” he says.
For those looking for something a little more high-tech, there is also a Char-Broil grill you can monitor from another location and even a voice-activated grill, by Lynx, that will speak back to you. Now an East York homeowner, Rich recently returned to grilling after an urban drought. On a warm Saturday, Rich dumps a bag of coals into the grill. His English bulldog Barley trots around the backyard, gnawing at a plastic yellow baseball bat. The occasion? Springtime sun.
“That’s pretty much all the occasion we generally need,” he says.