It's the fanciest grill in town, but you wouldn't want to cook on it.

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Alison Church/Special (ENLARGE)

The Hearth, Patio and Barbecue trade show is on display at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The trade show features the latest products and equipment for barbecue and grilling through Saturday.

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BeefEater, an Australian grill maker, rolled out the ultimate in barbecue bling this week at the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association trade show in Atlanta: a 24-karat gold-plated grill. Only one of the units has ever sold, for $50,000 to someone in — where else? — Dubai.

Beefeater's advice: Don't fire it up.

"The heat would turn the gold black and produce toxic fumes," said Joe Dixon, the company's regional rep, suggesting the stainless steel equivalent as a more practical alternative. And it's a steal at $3,600.

The expo, which is open to the industry but not the public, ends Saturday at the Georgia World Congress Center. All of the major grill companies, from Weber to Georgia's Char-Broil and Big Green Egg, are represented. Many of the exhibitors are smaller companies showing new products. Here are some of the most notable:

Wood 3.0. Your grandfather cooked with hardwood embers. Your father cooked with charcoal. Now grill makers want you to cook with pellets and patties made from pressed hardwood, a user-friendly alternative to the smoke sources of old. Traeger Industries of Oregon has one of the coolest systems, using pellets that look like dog chow. An electric starter ignites them and a mechanism automatically feeds more as needed. Traeger offers the cooker in a model sure to please any fan of Southern barbecue: the Lil Pig, a pink porker complete with teats and digital controls hidden under its curly tail. "I've been trying to get them to make a Georgia Bulldog," said sales rep David Howard.

$1,599. At Casual Image and Shallowford Ace Hardware in Marietta. traegerindustries.com.

Bang, you're done. The award for silliest accessory goes to the Grillslinger, a tool belt with slots for tongs, flippers, knives, bottle and push-button salt and pepper dispensers. Too bad this wasn't around when the Village People were playing dress-up. Al Brown, one of the New Zealand chefs who came up with the product, demonstrated it with a flourish of metal and flipped utensils worthy of a cook at Benihana. He ended his routine by whipping out a laminated License to Grill, which comes with the belt. Show-off tailgaters should love this one.

From $55. At amazon.com or grillslinger.com.

Unidentified smoking object. Portable grills for tailgaters and campers are big. The O-Grill, from Taiwan, looks like a miniature flying saucer and comes in a variety of bright finishes that happen to coincide with many college's team colors. The standard model weighs 24 pounds, and a 15-pounder is on the way.

From $169.95. At amazon.com or o-grill.com.

Robo-grill. It looks like R2D2 in "Star Wars," or maybe Rosie, the Jetsons' robot. "Let's deploy the grill," said Craig Hampton, designer of the Hampton Grill, a transformer of a cooking contraption that tucks away three units in a central tower. They unfold on arms to form something that looks like a drum kit. Each grill can be adapted to multiple uses: gas grill, wok, steamer, rotisserie — even ice chest. "We think of it as the iPod of barbecues," said Roxanne Hampton of the California company.

$1,600. No local retailer yet. hamptongrills.com.

Plowing new ground. In the Southwest, some people cook outside on tractor discs, the round part of a plow that cultivates the soil. That inspired the Disc-It, a concave cast-iron disc mounted over a propane flame. "We think of it as a cross between a wok and a cast-iron skillet," said Nevin Montano of Affirmative Solutions, the Albuquerque, N.M., company that makes the disc. He said it's great for fajitas and breakfast and anything else that requires griddle cooking.

From $350. No Georgia distributor yet. disc-it.com.

Object of taste. Robert Brunner used to run Apple's design department, where he had a hand in the Powerbook and the iMac. The San Francisco designer turned his attention to outdoor cooking with Fuego, a line of grills that don't look anything like the kettles and barrels most of us use. The Fuego is a kitchen island of teak and stainless steel where everything from the lid to the "unsightly propane tank" fits into a sleek, modern package. It's for people who care as much about style as steak.

From $1,600. No Georgia retailers yet. fuegoliving.com.

After burner. No one likes to clean up a grill. Here's a product out of Connecticut that claims to make the job easier: the Grill Daddy, a brush with a hollow handle that fills with water and produces steam when it touches a hot grid. If it doesn't get rid of the crusty residue, maybe it'll work on soiled collars.

From $19.99. At Wal-Mart, Target and other retailers. buygrilldaddy.com.

Infra-what? Steakhouses have long used infrared burners to sear meat. Now the technology is making its way into high-end grilling. An infrared burner focuses a gas flame onto a ceramic or glass plate, producing a higher and more even heat that can cook food in half the time. It's good for seafood and thinner cuts of meat. "Cooking this way stops shrinkage," said Max Fulda of TEC, a Columbia, S.C., company that touted its technology under a banner claiming "The Greenest Grill on the Planet." Why green? Their grills require fewer BTUs to operate, he explained, meaning they leave a smaller carbon footprint. Remember when grilling was all about carbon (as in charcoal)?

$3,400. At Expo Design Center, Georgia Backyard and other retailers. tecinfrared.com.