Cuisinart Flat Top Professional Quality Propane CGG-0028 28" Two Burner Gas Griddle

Had a Blackstone but hated the location of the grease trap, the lousy lid that I paid extra for (and just knocks the grease trap off all the time) and the 36" size was just too large for a household of 2 people.So I took a chance on this since it was so cheap. I really like it. Obviously my love for this thing is conditional on the fact that it was 1/3 the price of the BS, but it does what it's suppose to do and in some cases it's better than the BS. Assembly took me about a half hour and was very easy. No major scuffs, only some dust that required a wet towel. The 28" top is plenty large for us, and I really love the location of the grease traps and cups. I plan on making some metal plugs to put in the holes so I don't accidentally lose food down the traps. The griddle surface is a bit thinner than the BS (or at least the side walls are) which will probably mean it will gain/lose heat faster, which is a pro and a con. The underside of the cooktop has square metal tubing welded to it to prevent warping. The knobs are trash, but once again..cheapest 28" griddle by a mile, and you can replace knobs, so no big deal. Pic 3 shows a bit of a snowflake/butterfly patter on the grill surface. This was right when I fired it up for the first time, so gives a good idea where the heat will be located when both grills are on. The brown discoloration in the other pic shows the griddle after about 15 minutes on high heat. The back sides of the griddle have holes so you could install a lid of you know what you're doing. The wheels are the rollerblade style and work just fine on my cobblestone patio. I know the whole thing is made to collapse down, but this isn't a portable griddle by any stretch. If you're looking for something you can move around, there are smaller and lighter options that make more sense in my opinion. there's a match-light chain on the back in case the ignitor gives out. The holding mechanism for the propane tank isn't as nice as the Blackstone, but it works and how often do you have to mess with that? Once a year? So one other major issue I had with my BS is that the inner 4-6" of the side tables were unusable because the heat sliding out from under the sides of the cooktop was too hot. That is not an issue here for whatever reason. I threw a paper towel in one of the drip cups and set it near the inner edge of the table and it wasn't even really warm to the touch after about 5-10 minutes. With the BS, just a couple minutes in that location would melt plastic and maybe cause a fire. It IS shorter than the BS by a few inches, which is noticeable. I'm 6'4, so a bit of a con for me, but probably the perfect height for anyone under 6', especially when you have to reach to the back of the cooktop. I'm removing the legs this summer and making it a sort of built-in for the outdoor kitchen, so the height for me is only a temporary problem.Overall, at the price this is going at currently, feels like a no-brainer for anyone watching their pennies. Yes, the BS is probably an overall nicer grill, but it's worse in key areas and costs a lot more. Snag this while it's still in stock. If you don't like it you could probably sell it for at least as much as you paid.

Just like everyone says, the hardware was loose in the box. I found all but one lock nut. Easily replaced at your local hardware store. That is the only bad I’ve found. The grill was easily assembled, took about a half hour. There are a multitude of ways to season a grill on the internet. Did I do it the best way? No idea, but the grill works great. The oil on the griddle referenced in other reviews is shipping oil so the griddle doesn’t rust . It’s not used. I started the griddle and ran it on high for a half hour and used a grill scraper to gently remove the shipping oil and push it to the drip trays. Shut it off, let it cool down some as it was extremely hot. Washed it with water and a little dawn dish soap. Dried it good . Heated it back up and oiled it with corn oil. Let it cool and wiped off the excess oil. Heated it up and oiled it e more time. Dried excess oil after it cooled and have been using it for two weeks now with a single complaint. I’m 6 ft so the height of the grill is not a problem. Is it as good as a blackstone? Id say yes and it’s half the price. Is it portable? Haven’t tried that. But it rolls easily around the patio .

I really like this. I wanted a flaptop when my old grill / smoker died. We are doing more fish and poultry with veg and a griddle / flattop makes that easier than a grill.It was quiet easy to assemble and seem built well. I did have trouble with one arm of the left burner ever igniting, but after manually forcing it to light with a torch, it seems to work now.It is not as easy to folk up as they show on the page. Tank being the biggest consideration. But it is a nice size and is bigger depth wise than a 28" Blackstone. It's 28" x 22" or so vs. 28" by 17" on a many others, including Blackstone. That is nice for sq inches of cooking space.The biggest complaint is the rough top. I'm a lifetime user of cast iron and I know how cheap cast iron has a rough finish. I hate that. I typically will sand down the cooking surface of my pans if they are cheaper ones that are rough. Then seasoning it REALLY gives us a non-stick surface. I was hoping this grill would be smoother as I didn't want to have to sand it down before use.I did FIVE (5) layers of seasoning (using Blackstone's 4112). It's OK, but the areas not directly under the burners are still rough and not very non-stick. Yes... I know build up will help, but honestly, I'm tempted to sand it smooth and re-season like I do my cast iron.

I got this two burner grill on a special offer for less than half of the current price so those reading this review should take this into consideration. At the current price the four burner model is a better buy. Overall it was well packed with just a few minor smudges on the finish and one tiny dent on the underside of the frame that won't affect performance and no one will ever see. Ditch the supplied ignitor battery for a AA lithium. They don't leak because you'll never be able to clean the gunk from a leaked alkaline. Assembly took less than one hour. Cleaning the shipping oil from the griddle was more difficult. Forget paper towels. Simple Green and a stiff brush needed. I didn't bother with the bottom side as it burned off during the seasoning for sure. Seasoning took a bit of effort because the instruction manual was lacking on this. Internet videos helped a lot. This griddle gets plenty hot. I measured over 600 degrees over the center and over 500 at the edges with it on high. I cooked some steaks on it with the burners on half setting and it was 500 degrees. All good. Pancakes and eggs may take some experimenting with the heat though. The cover works well and did not let any rain through during several downpours. Only gripe is I would have liked a solid cover.

The media could not be loaded. I cook everything on this! Makes the best crispy skin salmon, juicy burgers, and seared steaks and chicken.

Package missing one of each of the pieces of hardware needed to set it up. Very disappointed.