Thank you Whitt for the compliments. I got a lot of helpful info here when I had to buy appliances --- last year and a decade or so ago --- , so I try to contribute back. mossphl: Yes, I do have an NXR and have participated in numbers of threads discussing them. The NXR discussions have some fanboy rehtoric but generally are pretty calm and straightforward. Lots of info about reliability, cleaning, use, etc. If you haven't been through them all, google "gardenweb + NXR" and see what you get. Did I consider Precisions? Not really, When I unexpectedly had to buy a stove last year, my max budget was around $2k and everything Capital was way above that. Looked briefly at a 30" GE Monogram like Whitt has, and it seemed to be a pretty good stove but even floor models cost way over my budget. Actually, I was mostly looking at induction stoves (mainly the GE freestanding PHB925 and Samsung NE597NOPBSR. Almost bought one of them but the NXR seemed like a slightly better stove for me for what and how I cook and where I live. Also looked at a floor-model GE Cafe dual fuel which I liked -- wimpy rear burners notwithstanding --- but bidding took the price way beyond my budget. Anyway, I have a couple of 8" NS frypans that I use pretty regularly with my NXRs. I also make oatmeal on the NXR in a 5.5" diameter saucepan. As indiicated above, no problems using pans of that size on the NXR unless you need to get teensy pans above 650F. As for 15k versus 19-kBtu sealed burners, it wouldn't make much difference to me. YMMV, but, for me, the 19k BTU burners on a Precision range might boil a large pot of water a little faster than with the NXR but I'm not sure if it would be appreciably fast enough to matter for me. Not $900 to $1500 'better' for me, was what I thought. The Precision's burner design looks a lot like the one GE uses so it would probably be a lot like the 17k left front burner on your GE Cafe. Haven't found any specs on burner diameter, though, so this is just a guess. Here's something you can try for comparison sake. Using a 10" diameter stock pot on my NXR, it takes roughly 14 minutes 50 seconds to get 6 quarts of 65F water to 200F on my NXR. (I'm at close to 6000 feet altitude, so that is boiling at my altitude). Can you try that with the 17k-btu burner on your GE? That may give you a rough idea of how much an extra 2k btu would make and whether its enough to be a factor for you. This post was edited by JWVideo on Sun, Aug 18, 13 at 12:01

His comment had to do with repairs. He said that If a Bluestar needs a repair, you can take it apart only a couple of times and that these flimsy clips (where they are I do not know) break easily. This may not be very helpful. He recommended Wolf mainly for their great customer service. He did say that the Bluestar was nice but he thought the Wolf was made better. I may see him again next week when he brings the part needed for my washing machine so I will ask him again. He did steer me away from Thermador due to their poor customer service. All of the models I mentioned in my first post are available locally, but I would have to take a drive to use any of them. We live in central VA so I would guess that the DC area would have a store with some live cooking available.

I'm at 6500 feet. I find that cooking is a process that has many variables and altitude is only one of those variables. As far as baking, I have found that I have to watch yeasted breads a little more closely during the rise time and that is about it. Much of what I bake is gluten free which has its own share of difficulties and variables. My ovens are electric. I have far more difficulties with the way the dry air affects the baked goods. Now, my cooktop is natural gas. When we bought it, it was calibrated for high altitude. I have no clue as to the science behind it or what that even means. I can say the biggest difference I notice with cooking at altitude is that boiled potatoes take longer/forever as do dried beans. Actually, even baked potatoes take a while so I nuke them first and then finish in the toaster oven/microwave. A pressure cooker helps for mashed potatoes. Granted, my philosophy about cooking is that observation and experience are what can make the biggest difference and that is true at any altitude. Adjusting the leavening, temperature, moisture, etc. automatically is just more work than I am willing to put in unless something looks off.

Very interesting question. I think you're right to focus on the ovens, especially the shape of the real La Cornue oven, because I'd think that's going to be the biggest difference between the two ranges at any altitude. If the La Cornue oven is truly parabolic, all the heat that bounces off the oven ceiling will reflect straight down. Whether that would help appreciably with high altitude heating, I couldn't say, but it's possible! You might also look at how the oven elements operate as well. I'd thing the burner valves would be sufficiently similar that equal BTU rates would give similar heat/cooking output. (And hoping to bump up your question for someone with better info to see.) I don't know the answer to this, but if you're using LP, are there pressure maintenance issues, and would electric/induction give you a more reliable and efficient heating? I've cooked at altitude a few times, but only on electric coil. It was daunting to someone who's used to sea level. If you're going with a French range for simplicity, good idea, but if it's for the look and something else might give you more function at altitude, keep in mind that for the cost of the least of those ranges, delivered, you could design and install an impressive looking custom cooking center to house component appliances.