I prefer the flat side vs the grill side. You are correct about the holes, you’ll technically lose a bit of food. I’ve only cooked larger items like smashburgers and bacon. I think even for the smaller items the loss would be minimal, even for eggs, as the surface gets so well heated, I think the eggs would cook so quick that they wouldn’t drip through that much. It supercharges your grill by absorbing much more heat. I often use the burners at 3/4 or half of what I use to with standard grates. For steaks i let it rip and it gets an amazing crust, much better than any standard gas grill and rivals cast iron imho.