From the view of anyone looking for a free meal, it was the handiwork of a genius.

When Frank Giuffrida sold his restaurant the Hilltop Steak House in Saugus, Mass. in 1988, he negotiated a deal that would give him and his family free meals -- for life. No waiting in the long lines at the popular restaurant, "unlimited" free quantities of food and drink for his family and guests, at the restaurant, lounge and adjoining butcher shop, and again -- for their entire lives, according to the Associated Press.

Giuffrida founded the restaurant, with its giant neon cactus and plastic cows, in 1961 and sold it in 1988, but he kept the land. The new owners, who took over in 1997, say the privileges expired when the land was sold in 2004, shortly after Giuffrida died at age 86 in December 2003.

In great news for cows but another blow for vacationers, the cruise vacation giant Royal Caribbean has elected to charge $14.95 to anyone who orders New York strip steak in the main dining room. Eat all you want, the line says. Just not that.

Much of the fun of taking a cruise has been that everything's included in your fare. You can swim, pig out on the buffet, dance, splurge on lobster, and get somewhere interesting all for the same price, which on the major lines pans out to be between $100 and $200 a day. Here we have a cruise line deciding that your $150 doesn't include steak. So much for feeling like you can indulge.

If serving steak is such trouble, you have to wonder why Royal Caribbean doesn't just raise the price up the cruise by $10 or so. (Or better yet, ease up on the mountains of uneaten food at the afternoon buffets.) Then everyone can have their steak and eat it, too. The cruise line collects money from people who would never order a cruise line steak, and customers will come away with the illusion of value rather than with the bitter taste of nickeling-and-diming in their mouths.

Summer is upon us and if you are anything like me you are ready to fire up your grill for some delicious summer steaks and burgers! If your grill didn't make it through the winter and you need to find a replacement for a season of outdoor cooking, then Consumer Reports has the information you need to make an educated purchase.
Aside from the standard grill purchase guide, it also released a video of quick tips for gas grill shopping.

One of the best pieces of advice for finding a quality grill this summer is to take a magnet to the store with you, (or if you are really frugal, borrow one from the hardware section.) This will let you determine the quality of steel the grill is made out of, the magnet will stick to the cheaper steel mixtures which typically rust quicker, so look for one which doesn't hold your magnet. The video offers additional advice including the importance of stability, external temperature and the grilling area when you make your next grill purchase.

Since our grill is relatively new, all I need to do is get a new grill to place inside and clean up the rest of the body and I'll be flipping steaks and brats quicker than you can say 4th of July! Looking back, I wish I had known these tips when I picked out the grill. While it has held up well so far, I doubt the model we purchased would pass the magnet test, and without an indoor storage place for the winter I'd be surprised if ours made it through another season without significant weathering.

Do you have any grill buying secrets? What is your favorite brand?