Cuisinart Petit Gourmet Portable Gas Grill Review

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Having read all the conflicting reviews on this grill I was totally confused. I received this grill as a present and was quite concerned that my friend might have wasted her money. I grill a lot on larger gas grills but have never worked on a small portable one, and I do not have the patience to use charcoal.

Here is what it is not: A 3 burner Weber gas grill -but then it does not pretend to be. Anyone buying this with the anticipation that it will perform with the speed and flexibility of a larger grill will likely be disappointed.

Here is what it is: A very good portable gas grill that takes a minute or two longer to cook steaks, hamburgers, kabobs, chicken, hot dogs etc. It heats up fast, is easy to start and clean and is extremely portable. I liked it a lot and will use it a great deal this summer. To have a grill that is easily transportable and will work off of small tanks of propane is terrific.

I have no idea what all of these raging and conflicting reviews are about, but if you want a good portable gas grill that is easy to work on -this is it.

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After reading all these glowing reviews, I was expecting the fire of the gods. When it came, my Cuisinart grill was a total disappointment. Can't get hot enough to grill a steak, half the grill surface only gets "warm."

I went back to file my review, and looked more closely at the five star reviews of this product. NOT ONE OF THEM HAS EVER REVIEWED ANOTHER PRODUCT ON AMAZON.

Go back in my review history and you'll see I do my best to post my honest experience with a variety of products (in this category I've also reviewed my beloved Smokin' Tex smoker a couple years ago). So I'm not just one of Cuisinart's employees, taking an afternoon to establish a bunch of phony Amazon identities and post a bunch of fluff about my company's product.

On the plus side, this grill is made as durably as many in its segment. But you'll be better off popping for a Weber Q or even one of Cuisinart's better tabletop models. They make one called the all-foods grill that is much better, and a tabletop charcoal grill that's pretty nice too. There are a variety of other manufacturers making portable models that range from crappy to quite good and cheap to very expensive.

This particular Cuisinart went back to the store, and I chose a Weber Q tabletop model instead. It had less of a discount, but it does a much better job. If I'd had more money I'd have gone with a Napoleon Freestyle--that one can actually double as your main grill at home. It's one of the expensive ones, but if it's going to be your only grill it just might be worth it for you. Coleman makes a portable grill with a folding stand and wheels so you can pull the whole thing around like airport luggage. Pretty cool--but doesn't get hot enough to grill properly. I wish Weber would introduce the rollabout folding stand on its Q grill so it would have the same freestanding, rollabout portability as the Coleman.

But even if you go with Cuisinart's better portable model, you can do better than this portable grill. If I were to buy a Cuisinart, I'd go with the All-Foods. It has a bit more surface area than the Weber Q. But the Q is a bit more portable and has enough cooking surface for my needs, and costs less too. I made my choice with a budget number in mind--and I outspent it by a few dollars. But the Q seems to work right for me, with its shortcomings being less pronounced than the Cuisinart's.

I hope you find the grill that meets your needs. For me it was not this one. It might be just fine for you.

I do resent Cuisinart, a company I admire, using the reviews section on Amazon for advertising. I have several good Cuisinart products and will likely buy others in the future. Guys, leave the review section for actual customers.

Bottom line: I'd buy something else, even within the Cuisinart line. I personally went outside Cuisinart for a portable propane grill. You might not. Caveat emptor.

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I purchased my Petite Gourmet Portable Cuisinart grill in January. I am an avid barbenator and I needed something inexpensive (and what I had intended to be short term) after my larger gas grill fell apart. I liked the size and portability of the Cuisinart. I was thrilled once I put the thing to use. I find it cooks whatever I throw on there evenly and has that barbeque flavor. It heats up so quickly, that I have to have my sides prepared prior to even starting the unit. When I am at home, I have it hooked up to one of the larger propane cylinders from my old barbeque. But where this thing shines, is how small and compact it can become. I fold the legs in and take it wherever I want. I take along a couple of camping sized propane cylinders in the truck and barbeque where ever I want. I have made lunch for the guys at work, fed the family skiing, and had a couple of awesome tailgate parties thanks to my new grill. I am so happy with it's performance that I don't think I will even buy a new full size barbeque. I don't think it's performance would ever measure up to this little guy.Cuisinart CGG-180 Petit Gourmet Portable Gas Grill with VersaStand

Honest reviews on Cuisinart Petit Gourmet Portable Gas Grill

I am an avid camper and a condo dweller, so I don't have a lot of room to store things and have limited patio space. This portable grill is perfect with its easy storage size and flexibility to be great for car camping or patio grilling.

Set-up = simple. I'm an engineer, so I read all directions, and it still only took me about 8 minutes.

I went with the Cuisinart because the other grills of this size felt cheap. This one feels solid. The grill grate is thick and durable. The legs click into place, and the temp control knob doesn't feel like it's about to fall off. The gas tank is also placed well, such that you aren't afraid of it falling off akwardly and breaking off the gas valve.

The trial run consisted with wings grilled on a 15 degree (f) day. The grill came through with BTUs to spare. The next run, on a more mild but still cool day, was Italian sausages and asparagus. Delicious (and nutritious)! The grill, despite its diminutive size had more than enough power to handle both the meat and the veggies. It allowed even cooking of the veggies when placed on the edges and showed great grill marks on the sausages.

When finished, clean up was easy (a quick wipe down of the grill grate), let it cool, folded it up, and tucked it into the corner.

Another great product from Cuisinart. I highly recommend for any bbq/grilling enthusiast with limited storage and a discerning taste!

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I am an avid griller and wanted a small portable grill I could take in the RV or car trunk for a quick use at ball games, tailgating, fishing, camping, etc. I wanted something that takes up very little storage space and I can carry with one hand. This model was what I was looking for. I also own the Cuisinart CGG-200 and absolutely love it, so I knew I should stick with Cuisinart.

The grill arrived in its original box in great shape from the delivery company. Opening up the box, all the contents were packaged securely with no damage to the grill or finish on the parts. Setup could not be easier, no parts to put together whatsoever. The instruction manual was detailed and well written, obviously written by someone from the US, unlike what I find with so many other products.

Although it was dead cold here in IL, I was not going to let that keep me from trying this baby out. Both legs flip down and lock in place making the grill very stable on my deck table. I screwed in a bottle of propane, turned the control knob and it lit right off the first time. I like how the starter is part of the control knob.

I let the grill heat up for about 10 minutes and started grilling some burgers. I was concerned at first because the grill felt cool from the outside with the lid closed, but when I put the burgers on it was very hot. I grilled 4 ¼ pound burgers, but could easily fit 2 or more comfortably on the grill, more if you want to crowd them. The burgers were cooked in 10 15 minutes with very good grill marks on the meat. I did not have any flare ups during grilling, but kept the lid closed due to the cold outside air.

Clean up was simple, putting the grill grate in the dishwasher and wiping down the inside. The dishwasher cleaned the cooked gunk off the grate completely. There is a grease tray to collect the dripping grease, but I have not had anything in there yet with the amount of food I was cooking.

I have owned this grill for three weeks now and have cooked some beef tenderloins, bratwurst and chicken breasts all grilled easily with no problems. Grilling time is a little more than the larger grills, but for a grill this size, I feel it is plenty hot for all my grilling needs. A 1 pound bottle of propane will last a long time with this grill.

My favorite part of this grill is when done I just pop up the legs, lock the lid down and carry it off with the handle to put it away. If you are looking for a very portable grill that cooks well, this is the one to get.