I have one on my current JennAire and I can't wait to get rid of it. I'd much rather have 2 more burners. I have a nice All Clad griddle that I can place over 2 burners and use, too. I think it depends on how often you will use it. I like to cook breakfast, too but I don't do it everyday so for me it's not ideal.
When you say portable griddle is that an electric skillet? I have one of those we use when we go camping and it works great. We have 3 children so I cook often and a lot of volume.
Good luck with your decision!
Robin

I am using a 36" bluestar and went with 6 burners. I would rather have the flexibility of the extra burners and just use a removable griddle. Also if you want to throw a few steaks on the removable griddle it should get hotter with two burners under it than the built in griddle.

Thanks for the great points. It is hard to get out of your head what you want and get what you need, but keeping $800 in your pocket and just buying the removable griddle seems like the right thing to do. Thanks.

If you're going gas, then you can save a bunch by just buying a decent griddle pan (flat on one side, ridged on the other?) and using that across two burners. Just look around and find one that fits.

I also vote for all burners. Much more flexible. I used to have a 48" viking with a griddle. I used it, but found it to be too small. Plus it was hard to keep the top back part of the griddle looking clean. I am rebuilding my house now and just got the capital 48" all burners. I figure I will get a stand alone griddle that is larger. Good luck!

I just got a 36" range with a center burner that can be used with a "fish burner" (long oval burner) or a stainless steel griddle.

I personally would not have sought out the griddle feature, and I don't fry or make pancakes very often, but it came with the stove so of course I've been trying it out. I really didn't think I'd use it much, especially since the griddle piece weighs as much as a tyrannosaurus rex and I don't have anyplace handy to store it in my kitchen when it's not in use.

As it turns out, I LOVE the griddle. It makes frying better and easier. Truth be told, although I'm a good cook, I have always been a crap fryer, and this thing really makes a difference. I love my cast iron skillets, but I've discovered I love making bacon on the griddle even more. It is the bomb. It's also much easier to clean than I thought - a huge plus since the griddle doesn't fit in my standard-sized sink.

Having said that, my griddle is stainless & I'd avoid those that have nonstick finishes. I don't use nonstick myself anyway, and I'd be totally disgusted if I scratched part of my stove and then couldn't use that feature anymore (or could only use it knowing that tiny fragments of a carcinogenic substance were getting into the food) - because you just know that in a few years, most of the companies won't stock that replacement part anymore.

HTH & hope that you use and love whatever you decide to get!

I love my griddle. You can not get the same performance with a removable griddle because the built in griddles are thermostatically controlled. The flame cycles on them according to heat needed.

Well I went for the 36" bluestar rangetop with 6 burners, but I'm having trouble finding a griddle large enough to fully straddle two burners. I mean overall dimensions of 24" x 12".

People on Amazon.com rate the lodge pro 20" highly (http://amzn.com/B00008GKDQ), but its usable cooking surface is too small.

Any pointers?

Try this 12 x 20 griddle at Amazon. I don't know if a 24" griddle but there should be one out there?
http://www.amazon.com/Paula-Deen-20-Inch-Double-Griddle/
Billy

Check out the following URL:

http://www.thefind.com/appliances/info-2-burner-reversible-grill-griddle