Lyno, I have this great barbecue that's meant to go over the gas burner. It's a round with a grating across and two stubby wood handles called "El Asador". Very handy for roasting eggplants for Middle Eastern cooking where you want a charred outside and a gooshy inside. And peppers, etc., too. There are woks made especially for induction which are shaped much more like a traditional wok inside but have a flat bottom on the outside. Kind of a pedestal shape. As I understand it, all pots with induction compatible sides will warm up on the sides on induction. The excitation passes along the metal. A lot of pots have compatible bottoms but not sides. But as Erika said, you have to heat it up. What I haven't heard yet from someone who really woks a lot is how well standard induction (as opposed to wok specialty units) work. One thing people like about their blast furnace wok burners is that the flames and burning gases rise along the shape of the wok much like on the traditional solid fuel fires. I don't know that you can get that kind of feel in an induction wok on a standard burner. My portable is the Supentown Mr. Induction, which I got because it was really cheap and white. There are far better units for not much more money. One thing to be aware of while you're experimenting is that most built-ins run on 240V. Most countertop units plug into standard outlets. With those you won't see things like instant boiling. Rather, you'll get to try out cooking in a pot that heats rather than the burner, see how much control you have, etc. Things I learned: With gas, I would put on a cast iron pot then go get ingredients. Do that on even weakass cheapo porto induction and you'll burn your oil or whatever. Also, you can't just walk away from a big pot until you know your settings. What seems like a simmer might actually scorch. I also learned I wanted more settings for things like delicate sauces. That's at least 17, not 9 or 12. BUT, I was able to compensate on Mr. Induction by fiddling up and down with the settings. The response is instantaneous! So the more control settings are just so I have to adjust less. I made some perfectly good sauces with the thing. I don't really understand the boil water fast thing, other than it makes pasta off the shelf a quickie meal, but whatever. What's more important than the 0-60 mph, is how it handles in bumper to bumper and how hard it is to park, so to speak. So do your tests. Also find showrooms where you can use their installed gas cooktops and rangetops, and the induction units too. The biggest differences between different induction units are the controls.

Hi Jessica, I just found your original posting and also wondering where you are now in your process? I am also considering installing both induction and gas hobs after a less than totally satisfactory experience with a countertop induction unit. I liked a lot about the induction unit, much better than the smooth-top electric in the rental house in which we are living while our new home has been in planning and now construction phases. But when the oven failed and the landlord asked if I wanted it replaced with a gas stove, I said "YES", and haven't used the induction countertop again. The responses you got have helped a lot with some of the problems I encountered (granularity of control, cycling), but I'm still not convinced about the problems I had with my cast iron pans, my go-to pans for much of my stove-top cooking. These well-seasoned jewels cooked unevenly and things stuck badly; they even lost their seasoning. I have since learned that I may have heated them too quickly or maybe it was the characteristics of the countertop unit but I am leary of totally relying on construction. Our new house is planned as all-electric (highly energy-efficient and with PV solar). There is no gas on the property although it is nearby in the street. Running a gas line just for my one gas burner seems a little extravagant. So decision time is here. I'm leaning much as you were in your original posting - 30" induction and single gas burner (looking at the Miele 12" or 15" combiset unit), with a 48" hood. This is more than I really need; I rarely use more than 3 burners at a time but really want to be sure I have a large (I don't mean to hi-jack your posting but could use some of the info you may have gained and the decision you made. Also comments from anyone else on possibilities for induction cooktops with less than 4 burners but with at least one large one.

Thank you ALL for your responses. Each has helped clarify add'l thoughts I've had and brought up new ones! I THINK I've made a decision about what I need to do. As of this moment, I'm going to buy a 30" black glass induction cooktop - 4 burners. When I want to use one of my non-induction pans, I'm going to use a heavy-duty gas, 12,000 BTU portable unit that runs on Butane (1 hr. of continuous high BTUs usage; 2-3 hrs. for medium)! It's clear that my needs for those won't be often, but it WILL solve most of my issues that were bothering me and I won't have to give ALL of my favorite pans away that I so feared. And I'll still have access to BOTH induction AND gas (my original duel-fuel passion)! The reviews for this particular 12,000 BTU gas unit were outstanding and it's cost is less than $50 for the privilege. I was considering the Bosch Flexinduction or the highly praised (by reviewers) Frigidaire FGIC 3067MB. But, now I've noticed here the Bosch 800 being discussed for less $$ than the Flex if one doesn't need the flexible pods (which I don't, really). Frigidaire has about all the goodies EXCEPT individual burner timers at around $1100 or so with just terrific reviews on amazon - an amazing price point. Can anyone point out some detriments of these three that I may not have noticed or be aware of? What would all of us unknowing people do without all your input and kind help??

smm5525, I have posted some layout plans before, but things have changed over time. Here is a PDF with the layout and my organization sheet which details what kitchen item would go where. It's hard to post a screen shot, because it's too large to capture it all. You can follow the link to see it. NOTE: I am hoping to gain back enough inches to be able to make the base cabinets on each side of the cooktop equal size. Because design was created on a grid the refrigerator cab is drawn as 39" when in reality it'll only require 37.5". And I'm guessing on the Super Susan dimensions. We had a cabinet design guy come measure things today. He took a printout and is creating a "real" plan we can use. He sent me a message today saying that even though it's in Excel it's good and easy to figure things out. He should have it ready by tomorrow. I can't wait. We'll decide on what cabinet brand once we get some estimates. We're leaning towards Plato. Walnut with the grain going horizontally. Islands painted blue, with a more furniture-look to switch things up. We're planning on putting in a much larger window over the sink. You'll in the PDF that I have indicated where the existing window is in a dark green with the expanded window size in a lighter green. Let me know what you think. :)