Will admit those gas grills are great for consistency and long cooking things and I do use one.
We get mesquite wood in once a year at a distributor from out west. So I stock it up too and mix it with the real charcoal sometimes for steaks.
Wow, what a great pit stop for JJ.
I agree about the real charcoal. that is what I used when I used a wood fired grill. I think there is a wholesale grocer here who sells it to some of the commercial cookers. Most of them use dried hardwood but some still use the chunks...