Last weekend I had the opportunity to cook our Memorial Day barbecue on the Blacktop 360 Party Hub Grill. Before we even took it out of the box, I sent my hubby over to Home Depot to pick up a 1lb propane tank to use with the grill. We knew that grill set up would be rather easy, since the box states that it is already assembled, so we didn’t really think to prepare before our guests arrived.
My husband was able to set up the grill within 10 minutes, but didn’t realize the heating element was not harnessed down to the proper location. Instead, it was completely loose and in the center of the grill. It was not until one of our guests realized the heating element was broken off from the grill. Lucky for us, he is a handy man and was able to place it in the proper location to get it to work. In the meantime, we lit out our charcoal grill, thinking the Blacktop 360 was unusable. Turns out, they were able to get it to work, so since both grills were out, we decided to do a side by side comparison to a standard charcoal grill and the Blacktop 360.
Let’s start off with getting the grill going- The Blacktop 360 was ready to use right out of the box, with the 
exception of propane. The propane easily screwed in and the grill was already set up. When the Blacktop 360 is folded up, it is easy to carry and transport. The charcoal grill was a bit more involved, as far as set up. We wheeled the grill out, threw in some briquettes, doused them with lighter fluid and lit them up. The Blacktop 360 instructions state that the grill takes about 15 minutes to heat up, but in reality it was hot and ready to go within a few minutes. The charcoal grill took about 30-45 minutes to heat up to the point that it was ready for food.
We started cooking a few burgers and skirt steak on the Blacktop 360. Surprisingly, the burgers and meat looked like they were cooked on the charcoal- they had grill marks on them and even became slightly crispy on the outside- just the way I like them! It wasn’t long before the food was completely cooked. The charcoal grill had similar cooking time, maybe a bit longer, but all the food was on the table around the same time.
The verdict:
The Blacktop 360 Grill is
- much faster to get started
- much easier to store, since it folds,
- very easy for on the go, such as tailgates
- quick and easy clean up
- food comes out great
The charcoal grill-
- gives you that authentic taste of charcoal grilled meat- although the food cooked on the Blacktop 360 was pretty close!
Other features of the Blacktop 360 include a griddle, a cutting board, and a deep fryer. We didn’t use the deep fryer during the initial review because I ran out of oil and didn’t realize it until the food was already cooked. We tried it out a few days ago and while it is a great feature to have, I probably wouldn’t use it for big parties. It doesn’t hold too much, but it is a great feature for those smaller BBQs. The only complaint we had about the Blacktop 360 was that the surface area to cook, although very diverse with options, is rather small for bigger parties. The charcoal grill holds much more than the Blacktop, but takes a little more effort to take out and put together.
The Blacktop is a lot more compact and doesn't require all the "extras" of the traditional charcoal grill
The surface area of the Blacktop is a bit smaller, but it cooks so quick that size really doesn't matter
traditional grill produces a lot more smoke than the Blacktop
Not as much smoke with the Blacktop!
Everyone raved about all the features and the futuristic look of the Blacktop 360. We were all impressed with how it works and the easy clean up, plus we all agreed it would be a great grill to keep in the car for those BBQs at the beach.
With all these great features, why not impress that special man in your life this Father’s Day. You can find the Blacktop 360 grill at these retailers for under $300. You can connect with Blacktop 360 on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on product announcements and promotions.
