Hi all,
I live in an apartment in Los Angeles and have used either my old trusty
Weber kettle or a gas grill out on my balcony for years, but my landlord has
recently banned all barbecues on the premises. Apparently this has to do
with fire regulations and insurance companies not covering landlords whose
tenants use barbecues anywhere other than in a common area well away from
any apartments. Last week someone got caught using one on his balcony and
was served an eviction notice.
Needless to say, I'm not at all pleased with having to put my Weber in
storage, and I'm not particularly pleased about having to use the natural
gas grill in the common area.

Today I was reading about electric smokers and I was wondering if I might be
able to get away with using a small residential electric smoker like a
Cookshack or Smoketex out on my balcony. I prefer smoking to grilling
anyway. For anyone other than a die-hard purist, would something like this
work for pork ribs, chicken, tri-tip and brisket? If so, what's the best
kind to consider and what features should I look for?

I need my barbecue fix. Thanks for any helpful suggestions.

Cheers!
Tom