I have the Viking range with the griddle in the middle. I got a wood cutting board cover to place over it when not in use and I like the way it looks. And it is handy to have a place in the middle to set stuff down. :)
But in terms of actually using the griddle, I'm still on the fence. I've had the range for 6 months and I've yet to actually eat something prepared on the griddle. I can't seem to get it "seasoned" correctly and the few things I've tried tasted like metal to me. I have a feeling this problem is mostly user error! Also, the griddle is going to darken/discolor over time. That's how it is supposed to be. But I think if you have some kind of cover it would be fine. HTH

I used to have a Jenn-air gas stove top with a griddle in the middle. I used it a couple dozen or so times a year. I should say 'I' used it half a dozen times and my hubby used it the rest, he liked it better than me. Maybe it's a guy thing? Mine had a stainless steel cover for when not in use, I used it to set stuff on. I loved the stainless steel, I thought it easy to clean. katy

My last house - had the GE Monogram gas cooktop with griddle.. my new house a GE induction cooktop. I am SOOOO much happier with the induction, my main reason - it is clean looking and is a snap to clean. I HATED, just hated how hard it was to keep the gas cooktop clean - and the griddle (sorry I sided tracked) was 10 times more a pain to clean. A plug is counter-top is so much easier. IMHO

I have a Wolf range top w/ center griddle waiting to be installed. The griddle is thermostatically controlled & can be set for as low as 100 degrees. Having grown up w/ an Okeefe & Merritt range w/ a center griddle as well as my parents having been in the restaurant business, I'm pretty well versed in cooking on a griddle.

Besides the usual grilled cheese & pancakes, you can cook pork chops, bacon, hash browns, fry bread, eggs, Ruben sandwiches...i.e., a lot of the food you cook in a skillet that doesn't require massive amounts of grease (fried chicken, chicken fried steak, etc.)

Because the Wolf griddle can be set to such a low temp, I plan to use it other ways...as a warming 'drawer', plate warmer, preheat & turn off for quick thawing and bread raising.

Initially, I torn between the griddle & grill versions & thought I wanted the grill version because I live in Wisconsin. Between rain, mosquitoes & winter, outdoor grilling can be a challenge for about 10 months of the year. But, in the end, it was a toss-up & decided that whichever version that presented itself as a Great Deal would be what I went with. Turned out to be the griddle & I'm more than OK with it.

So far as looks, my range top has a SS cover but I may end up using a butcher block or leaving it naked. I like the way the flat surface breaks up the range top and the fact that it's a lot easier to wipe down than 2 more burner grates would be.

These are all great feedback. I read them all aloud to DH and got a mere head shake. I think he is internalizing all of this. I think I would be OK if I could keep it covered with a SS cover, I didn't know they came with one. Keep the suggestions coming!!!

We had a 60" Viking in the last house with a griddle and a nice cutting board cover and 6 burners. I always felt the griddle was a colossal waste of space. The crab cake appetizers we did a couple of times and the grilled cheese or pancakes for the granddaughters were fun, but I felt that the griddle didn't earn its space. Would have loved a big range in the new house, but I found a 36" Viking with 6 burners and I think that the whole rangetop earns its keep. I bought a 2 burner cast iron griddle which seems to be able to take the place of the Viking griddle, and I think I spent $20 on it.

I have 48" Capital with a griddle. For some reason, it took me forever to even try it our b/c I was afraid of getting it dirty, but it's terrific. Mine has a stainless cover so you never see the working "underbelly". My kids love their pancakes on it! The heat is very even on it and it cleans up easy.

I have a 48" Thermador Dual Fuel Pro Range with four burners, a 12" grill, and 12" griddle. Talk about something that doesn't earn it's keep, is the grill! I've had a JennAire plug in grill in a counter top years ago and it was 'OK'. This grill works fine but what a mess. I hate it.

Now, why I write: the griddle. The Thermador range has a Titanium non-stick top that is EASILY removed to wash. It also has a removable titanium non-stick rectangular cup to put all of your leftover debris from cooking into. All of this lifts off the range to pop into the sink or dishwasher. I'm telling you, in two minutes any mess is cleaned up! I LOVE IT.

The only problem with the griddle is that it is TOO SMALL! My next range will also be a Thermador, except I will buy a 24" griddle and four burners! We use the griddle almost every single day. My kids love it because it's just so easy to use for tortillas, grilled cheese, grilled toast, omelettes, eggs, French toast, pancakes, etc...

I had the opportunity to replace my Thermador back in November. GE was willing to give me a brand new Monogram range. I went to look at it and there was NO WAY that range holds a candle to the Thermador. You've got to at least go see them before you commit to something that will be a P.I.T.A. to clean. I've been there and you will wish you had listened to me. Covers are nice, but the reality is, if it's too hard to clean you won't use it. I know. I have an indoor grill that looks horrible after using it a few times and it collects dust like a magnet.

I had a Viking range with a griddle and I hated it. I never used it because it was such a pain to clean. I have seen the Thermador, and, as sherilynn says, you easily remove it to clean it. I didn't choose a griddle at all this time around, but if I had, it would definitely have been the Thermador.

I just ordered the thermador pro harmony gas range with
the griddle, which seems to have the same specs
as the pro grand. Thermador describes the griddle
as "built in". Clearly the drip tray is removable, but
are you saying that the whole plate is removable as well?
That would be fantastic. I'm not worried if it won't
look spotless, because you order the stainless cover
and/or the maple chopping block to put over the plate.
But please tell me if I'm understanding that
the actual griddle is removable.
Thanks!

I currently have the 36 in Viking with griddle in the middle. I happen to use it frequently and my only problem is its size.
My new house will have the 36 in Viking 6 burner and also the 24 in companion griddle. That will be twice the size of what I have now. I am very much looking forward to using it. My children use it all the time as well.

We do pancakes, french toast, bacon, chicken. quesadillas, fajitas, eggs, hashbrowns, grilled cheese, etc.

Other things as well but these are the things the children like.

Keeping it clean is a matter of using a griddle block. I am sure your local restaurant supply store will point you in the right direction for cleaning tools.
Seasoning is easy, much like cast iron.

I would opt for the butcher block cover as it makes it so handy to use as extra prep space when not in use.

We had a griddle on our old Thermador and when we remodeled we quickly decided to go with a 6 burner gas cooktop. We liked the flexibility of using a seperate griddle and in fact have a couple of them in different sizes. The kids will use the small one on a single burner to make their own breakfast and I have a large one that covers 2 burners when I'm cooking for the family.

But what I really like is when I'm cooking for a crowd I can use 2 seperate large griddles and make bacon and sausage on one and more delicate things like eggs on the other. And since the 2 large ones cover 4 burners I can adjust the heat very easily and I still have my other 2 gas burners for whatever.

Some of the comments on this thread are making me wish I had opted for a griddle!! I did get a 36" monogram with 5 burners, so I'll just plan on a cast iron griddle that spans two of the burners. I think I'll like that just as well.

On the Thermador that I saw, the whole griddle was removable. You could pick up the whole thing and go wash it in the sink. Don't know what model it was.

OK- so now he is on to researching the Thermador. Is it truly the best of both worlds? Easy to clean AND DH gets his "man griddle". Thanks for the new lead!

Hi Miss Stacey,

just wanted to chime in. I have the GE Monogram dual fuel with 4 burners and a griddle. I have had it for about a month or two and LOVE it. I have used it frequently for a variety of things: pancakes multiple times per week (you can make enough for the whole family in no time at all), quesadillas, chicken, spareribs (that were pan seared on the griddle and then went into a stock pot in the oven to become pulled pork... the searing was much more even and much quicker on the griddle than in a frying pan, plus I was working with 4 pounds of meat, that would have been three frying pans going), toasted buns, etc.

The GE Monogram has an adjustable thermostat (starts at low and then the next temp up is 200 degrees), and it comes with a stainless cover for the griddle. Cleaning the griddle is fine (not great, but fine). I have an old supply of tattered wash clothes that I keep in the kitchen for washing counters, the griddle, etc. - I wet one of these and while the griddle is still hot, I wash it down or if it is a real mess, I pour some water on it while it is hot and use a spatula to scrape it down which is pretty easy.

I looked into the Thermador but was advised against it by the appliance store guy. He said the griddle wasn't as good as the Wolf (at that time I was still on the Wolf, but eventually stepped down to the GE Monogram for financial reasons). The GE Monogram which was a compromise for me has ended up being phenonemal. I love cooking on it. I haven't tried the wok thing yet (burners turn over to form the base for a wok).

So far the range has exceeded my expectations by a lot and the griddle has been GREAT!

If you want any pictures of the GE Monogram range, I would be happy to post them. Just let me know.

mamadadapaige- My DH was thrilled with your post. If you have pics available, that would be great!

Missstaceyh--Just so you know, if you haven't discovered it already, the Thermador griddle is electric.

missstacyh - before you make a decision, I would recommend reading this webpage. Hope it helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: GE Monogram w/griddle - Recalls

phew!! mine wasn't one of them. looks like they found the problem (a design flaw) in the winter of '06 and units built after that aren't affected.

Stacey, I will take some close-ups for you ASAP (my 2 year old was playing with my camera the other day, so I took it and put it someplace where he couldn't get to it... obviously it was too "special" a place, because now I can't find it).

mara 2008- Thanks, good to know these things!

mamadadapaige- I am laughing because that sounds like something I do quite often. Good luck in your hunt for the hidden camera!

We were discussing this also. A friend has a Viking 36" range and she has a griddle pan too. She removes two burners and keeps the griddle pan on top of where the other burners were. She stores those in the basement. This seems like a good compromise to me. You can have a removable griddle all the time and two extra burners when you need them. I think this is what we will do.

HMM! That sounds like a nice compromise. I love the Viking but know they are costly. Do you know if any other models do this?

we have a 6 burner wolf with the griddle and LOVE it!! it is very easy to clean, stainless top hides the "seasoned" look and whatever we make on it comes out great (eggs, omelets, french toast and pancakes along with sauteed veggies,etc...)

Hi Stacey,
finally located my camera and have some pictures for you. now, bear in mind that I don't fuss cleaning the griddle - just give it a swipe with a damp cloth and then put the stainless cover on... probably i could get it a little cleaner if I tried but honestly who cares when you can put the cover on.

I made some homemade bread the other day on the griddle. I used store bought pizza dough, split into fourths, rolled out with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. very easy and cooked up in less than 5 minutes on the griddle. I served it with hummus to my neighbors (during our weekly wine drinking get together!!!) and they all loved it.

I really love having the griddle and have used it a lot.