Fire up the barbecue!

A beer in one hand and a spatula in the other…does anything say “summer” more? Look for a BBQ that’s about $400 and made in North America, so you can easily replace parts, says Jason Rees, pitmaster at Baju BBQ in Toronto. Spend more, and you’ll have brag-worthy features like a rotisserie and infrared burners, but spend less and the grill will produce uneven heat that’s hard to cook on: “You’ll have three that are raw and three that are medium.” Avoid buying BBQs sold in grocery stores—they’re typically manufactured overseas. “After a year or two you have burners that don’t work,” Rees says, “and a $500 doorstop.”