I was going to ask the same question--I have one of those aluminum Italian
percolators, and can't really use it. What's up with the design on these grills?

Simple fix, I think, would be placing a square of iron mesh over the center
of the grill. Not elegant, perhaps, but it would probably work. Doubtless
done many times before...is there a reason for the large gap in the Westy
grills?