First of all you're not foolish for not getting dual fuel - a good gas oven will bake just fine - particularly if you're not that much into baking. Many of us bake just fine with a gas oven. A good gas oven will do a lot better than a mediocre electric oven and you'll get a much better broiler with a gas oven.

If you can go a little over your price range, I would highly recommend the DCS all-gas range. You can save a little by not getting self-cleaning. I've had this range for over 6 years and I'm still thrilled with it (it has sealed burners). Another highly recommended range on this forum is the Bluestar - it has open burners and 22K BTU burners. Wolf and Capital are also well thought of in general.

One more range to consider is American. A lot of people on this board are pleased with theirs. I always seem to forget about it for some reason.

Thank you for the responses. I have not seen American or Capital anywhere. I wonder if I am using the incorrect term. I don't want the professional stoves. I want the stainless pro look, pro style stoves, more like the GE Cafe or such. I have a small kitchen in a hot area near Los Angeles and I don't really need hot and fast but I do need the look and a wonderful stove. I have been told that if I got the DCS that I would then have to have a professional, expensive hood. I need a hood, also, my old one is broken, actually, I have been in the house for five years and it never worked. I would love to know if the Broan hood is decent.

The ranges I mentioned are all pro-style ranges but not commercial ranges - commercial ranges are not generally suitable for home use because they lack suitable insulation (DCS and Wolf also make commercial ranges). The pro-style ranges that I listed do tend to have larger, more powerful burners than the next tier down. A good 600 CFM hood would meet your needs whether you get a GE Cafe or Bluestar.

Another range to consider more in the price range of the GE Cafe is the Bosch. I don't know that much about it and I have no idea if the sides are stainless or not.

Where are you in CA? I looked at a Capital in Buena Park (they have them on display at the Vent a Hood store) and eventually bought one. I saw some of the other high end ones at Snyder Diamond in Santa Monica. For me, self cleaning was a must, and that narrowed down my choices quite a bit.

Dear Weissman and Mary: Thank you for your responses. I live near South Pasadena and there is a Snyder Diamond near me. I have been to it and the sales woman walked around with me but I left almost more confused than when I began. I can't figure out why so many of these "freestanding" ranges look like slide ins with black sides. That won't work in my kitchen. I will check out the Capital in Buena Park at the Vent a Hood store, which I have never been to.
Thanks for all of the tips. Weissman, do you know what the reputation of the DCS stove is? I sure don't want to be in a Viking situation where I understand that there can be lots of service calls but people still love the ranges. Thank you for your time. I consider you an expert and, BTW, I love your shutterfly photos, the kitchen is gorgeous.

I'd recommend the American (residential) range for the money. It's well built and it works. It handles small pots well and is less expensive than Wolf, Capital, DCS, and Bluestar.

I'm a big fan of the Bluestar star shaped open burners, but, it's probably a thousand dollars (or more) than the American.

By the way, gas ovens cook better for breads and meat= the moisture given off by the burning of the gas helps with crusts - the drier heat of electric ovens is better for cakes.

As far as I know, DCS has an excellent reputation - it's now owned by Fisher & Paykel. I haven't seen many complaints about it on these boards over the years. There are a number of us who are very happy with it. Capital is an spinoff of DCS and also has many happy users although I was surprised to find out that it doesn't have the dual stacked burners like DCS and Wolf for getting a low simmer.

All these ranges are great, and they all have their idiosyncrasies. Capital, as an example have the most available features, offering large wok burners on top and self cleaning ovens below with a rotisserie if you want it. Infrared grills too. And a company that is responsive to their customers. Their one weakness is also a strength- they have 19K BTU burners. These burners go low enough if adjusted, the problem is the large circle of flames is not so great with a small pot. A small pot set on medium or higher and the flames go to the outside of the pot. The solution would be to have at lease one smaller burner with a smaller flame circle.

But if you want high heat, you have to have more flame holes and that usually means a larger diameter circle, stacked or not. It's that simple.

This is what Wolf and DCS do on their sealed burner ranges- 2 different burner sizes. They may also have a dual stage or stacked burner for simmer, but they still have two different burner caps. Wolf offers an open burner(on their All Gas) that is cute because it has a small cap within a second larger circle. But some people find the black porcelain bowls harder to clean. American doesn't use 'stacked' (or dual stage) burners, but has 3 different burner sizes. Even the small circle gets pretty hot when set on high.

Bluestar doesn't use stacked burners either. But they have 3 burner sizes per range-and they do two things differently- the flames are directed straight up, and their medium (15K) and large (22K) BTU burners have eight fingers of flames (double rows on each finger of the 22K) going out from a small circle-and like I said, the flames shoot straight up, not out- so when you turn the thing on high, the flames aren't going to the outside of the pan ...also only the smallest burner is in a circle, the others are a circle with 8 fingers. A great design, but they have their problems too on occasion- see all the threads on this forum. And you certainly can't get self-cleaning or dual fuel with that brand.

Just thought I would chime in as a happy DCS owner. I really love the simmer, the center large burner, the Infrared broiler, the SS top is easy to keep clean. I paired it with a Kobe hood and am very pleased with the results. You mentioned Broan and I believe people are pleased with broan.

alexr - thanks for that great summary and comparison of the gas ranges - very useful. I am considering American and Bluestar. A priority for me is being able to get a color. Bluestar is nice because the sides and the door are colored but American has color only on the front and not on the sides, the sides are SS. I may well have an exposed side in my kitchen as, contrary to modern trends, I may CHOOSE to have my range on the end of a run, next to a doorway.

Check out the BlueStar 30" RCS. It doesn't have all the features of the RNB series but will be much closer to your price range. It still has the burner design alexr described but goes up to 15k instead of 22k

You have all been wonderful and I am excited to get so many great suggestions. Except for Viking, it seems that most people are happy with their purchases, whichever range they purchased. I had asked about hoods. I am shocked by the 1659 price on the DCS 30" hood. Can you all
suggest what stainless hood works well with these pro style ranges? I have heard that Broan and Kobe work well with these. I still have not decided between Blue Star, DCS, American, Captal. I love their looks, but I need to see them in person. Is there anywhere in LA, CA that has them all? Thank you, you folks are so generous with your hard earned knowledge.

I like Vent-A-Hood

After a ridiculous amount of research, I just ordered a 30" American AG range with a 36" modern aire stainless hood (600 cfm motor).

Reasons I went with American:

1) American is fairly new to the residential market (after 30+ years in the commercial market, I think), and I get the feeling their price is more reflective of that than of any intrinsic inferiority to better known competitors like Viking and Wolf.

2) DH vetoed open burners, which eliminated Blue Star, along with my feeling that 22Kbtus was overkill in our case. (30" American has two 17K burners -- plenty for us.)

3) Oven looks to be comparable to above pro-style brands, and possibly even superior in some ways, at least on paper. E.g. unusually roomy for a 30" range, a supposedly restaurant-quality broiler, "duel convection" fans, which is a patented feature borrowed from their restaurant line. Of course, I won't know how great any of this is until I get my hands on the thing a month from now...

4) Like Buffalotina, I wanted the option of adding a colored front down the road, like when I do a full-kitchen remodel later in the year. (I also like the idea of having the SS to fall back on, assuming the color kit doesn't ruin the finish...)

5) Like most of the higher end ranges, the American is relatively free of digital/electrical features. For me this is a big plus, in terms of aesthetics, durability and reliability.

6) Many extremely generous (and honest) GW-ers posted their American experiences here, and while they were not 100% trouble-free, I came away with a good feeling about the company.

Everyone has different criteria. Once you figure out your own, the choice becomes a lot easier. Good luck.

viva99 - please keep us posted on how you like your range when you get it.