Yeah, I see no reason to pay extra for a side burner -- which is why I have my eye on the Weber Gen. Silver A.

My wife is buying me a grill for my birthday, so she's in charge of how much I/we get to spend. She has offered to set $200 aside now (that was her original budget), and then we could add to it later on.

My current grill does work, but it ancient (came from my Grandma) and doesn't get hot enough to cook a steak in less than 20 minutes. With 4 steaks, the sun goes down before they're done.