u/chopius

I'm planning on getting a 3 or 4 burner Freestyle grill for my balcony.

Initially I've considered getting a sizzle zone infrared side burner as a must, since I will be mostly cooking dinner just for me and my wife, and heating the entire grill for that would be a waste. So I thought I'd use that for small dinners, and the actual grill for bbq events where we invite guests over.

But after seeing a bunch of videos, it seems like steaks done over the sizzle zone don't look all that nice, plus it seems like it's gonna be spraying droplets of grease and juices all around the vicinity of the grill, something which I would very much like to avoid.

The balcony ain't that large and spreading all that mess on the floor and then tracking it inside the house would really suck.

Looking for any feedback from people with experience. Should I just forget about the sizzle zone and get a regular side burner or none at all?

I'm looking for a grill with an infrared side burner and in my price range I've found the following models available in my area:

2 burner Rogue XT 365

3 burner Freestyle Pro 365

Which of these two is the better option?

On one hand the Rogue should have better components and build quality, and on the other hand it's 2 burners vs 3

I'm going to be cooking just for me and my wife 90% of the time (steak dinner), and on the other 10% it's gonna be a 8 person BBQ at the most.

I'm looking to get a gas grill.

In short, at my price range I can either get a 3-burner Rogue or Freestyle between 365 and 425, without the infrared burner, or a 2 burner Rogue XT 365 with the infrared side burner.

Now since most of the usage is going to be a simple steak dinner for two, the infrared burner seems like a really good idea. The 365 grilling area should be more than enough for the 6-8 people bbq we're gonna have like 6 times a year tops. (I've successfully grilled for 10 people on an 18" Weber kettle which has about 270 square inches of cooking area)

The question is - would having 2 burners instead of 3 over the same area be a serious drawback in terms of heat and other parameters?