$3200 difference? I have a GE Monogram dual fuel w/6 eyes and a griddle. We rarely use the griddle but it makes THE best pancakes, etc than anything else. But it would not be worth 3200 to me.

I had an induction years ago and loved it. Never thought I would like natural gas, but now I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I have a 36" with 4 burners and a griddle and use the griddle all the time. Sometimes to cook large amounts of veggies, for quesadillas, pancakes, etc.

an extra $3200?? for the pancakes alone, no, however, if it works to make the overall scheme of your kitchen better, if it is part of the design, if you'll take advantage of the larger oven space, then maybe.

The inductions are cool, however, too modern looking for the vintage look we were going for and I didn't have space for seperate wall ovens.

I have a Viking 36 in/w griddle in my current home. I use it ALL the time. In new house we are putting in Viking 36 in. 6 burner range w/ 24 in companion griddle. I can not wait to have the double griddle. Well worth every penny for us.

The salesman said they sell more of the 36 than 30's. I was taken back when he told me the prices. I even asked him to repeat it. I've always wanted a Wolf stove.

allison, so why didn't you go with induction with your last one. I've never felt comfortable with gas so that's one of my holdups with it. I'm also afraid induction is new and there may be problems - I talked with a friend who is in the customer service department and he said the have been having problems.
mamadadapaige, I've been trying to cut calories. Do you need to add much oil when you saute your veges?

I think either one will look good. I'm also debating if I want to add a sink in the island. I'll post a question about that later.
Thanks for the fast replies.

Induction is not new. Ours was purchased in 1985 from Sears. Kept it until we moved 3 years ago. It gets hotter quicker. Easy to clean. We never had any problems with ours, but then they don't make things the way they used to.

New house, DH wanted a big range. He's the main cook in our family. Plus, if the power goes out, we can cook. Even though we had a whole house generator at our last home (as well as here), an electric cooktop pulls too much power - would rather have HVAC, lights, fridge.

I was uncomfortable with the thought of gas also, but I really like it now. Children are grown, so I don't have to worry about burning fingers.

fwiw, I looked at all the range options before purchasing and went with the 48" GE Monogram. Unless you just want the Wolf or Viking "look," why pay that much more. I did not want wall ovens with separate cook top and I love having the two ovens. I use the smaller oven more than the larger oven.

We have a second sink in our coffee station. Rarely use it. I like the large double sink in island for everything....I haven't seen your kitchen drawing so I can only speak for myself.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Kitchen

I just replaced an ancient 36" Thermador with a griddle. We never used it.

Anita

I went back and forth as to whether or not to do the griddle. I talked with a friend who has small kids. She does use hers, but said it takes a while to warm up. We make pancakes about 4 times a week, but in the end, I decided to buy a 36", 6-burner Thermador rangetop without the built-in griddle. We did, however, get an accessory griddle that goes on top of two burners. I think for me, it will be the best of both worlds. We'll see....

I have a Viking 36 in/w griddle in my current home. I use it ALL the time. In new house we are putting in Viking 36 in. 6 burner range w/ 24 in companion griddle. I can not wait to have the double griddle. Well worth every penny for us.

Sorry for that double post...
...thats what happens when you get up from computer, come back & don't remember what the heck you already did. :)

datura,
about the calories, I am trying to cut as well. I find I use less oil when sauteing on the griddle than in a pan.. maybe because there is more surface area so less mixing around which would necessitate adding oil. I use my misto olive oil sprayer to add oil when needed so that it is a scant amount.

our griddle takes no time at all to heat up... maybe 5 minutes tops (GE Monogram). a friend has the viking and says it takes 30 minutes to heat up.

datura,

are you talking about the price difference between a 30" 4 burner vs a 36" 4 burner with a griddle? I priced a 36" 6 burner vs a 36" 4 burner with a griddle and the price difference was only about $900. If your price comparing a 30" vs a 36" of course there will be a substantial price diff. There is also a substantial price diff between the all gas ranges vs the dual fuel.

I ended up with the 36" 4 burner with the griddle, and I've used it for more than just pancakes and french toast. I've grilled burgers on it, and made fajitas, home fries, grilled vegetables. The griddle can also be set low and used to keep food warm. I really like mine.

oh meant to mention that I too really wanted a Wolf but with the griddle and dual fuel I was looking at mid $8K's... couldn't go that high which is why I have the GE Monogram. I am perfectly satisfied with the GE. I absolutely love the stovetop -the simmer is a true simmer, and I can boil water really quickly when it is on high -- these were my two priorities. My MIL has a cooktop that won't go low enough to simmer and also has the clicking ignitor switch issue which would drive me insane (this apparently is an issue sometimes with the Bluestar's which was another range I was very interested in and much closer in price to the GE Monogram than the Wolf... the clicking issue was a deal breaker for me - I wasn't willing to take the risk and also didn't like the little white tubes that supply the gas to the burners -- looked unfinished to me).

BEar in mind that appliance showrooms can wheel and deal with you on some brands (such as GE) but not on Wolf.

datura
another option, not yet mentioned is either a 30 or 36" w/a removable griddle. I have a 36" Viking range & the removable griddle (fr. Viking) it heats up in just a few minutes and makes beautiful pancakes - very easy to clean.
I typically leave it over 2 burners, but do like the option of removing it in the event I need all 6
GL

We were going back and forth about whether to get a griddle.

We love to make pancakes, grilled cheese... (I have a 14 & 11 year old) but decided to go with a 24" grill instead.

We'll place a griddle over the grill. I felt that we had more options going with the grill vs the griddle.

We just ordered a 60" bluestar with 24" grill for our new home (not done yet...). Can't wait!!!

Toni

allison, wow - love your kitchen.

josie, yes, the Wolf 30" four burner dual fuel compaired to the 36" four burner and griddle dual fuel. They were priced $4999 and $8149. I'd really like the 36 over the 30 but that's a heck of a lot of money.

I know the griddle needs to be seasoned but I don't like the look of a "used" griddle. Sometimes I think I should go back to the induction cooktop and a wall oven on one side of the island.

mamadadapaige, I can see using less oil.

Ok, another question, does it splatter very much?

Josie, is it messy to do hamburgers?

Thanks everyone for your help - I need to sit down and really think this out.

A SS griddle cover comes with the Wolf, Datura.

Do you need or want a 36'' oven? I didn't so I'm going with a 36'' Wolf rangetop w/ center griddle & separate (electric) wall ovens.

An area appliance dealer has a warehouse sale a couple of times a year. Got lucky & picked the Wolf up for $2k (full warranty). (Ovens just aren't very important to me so I picked up a second hand double stack off Craig's List & am debating about separating them & using only one of the ovens.)

Went into this being flexible. Narrowed down my choice to brands that I would accept, the size I wanted (36''), burner style (open burner, first choice) & the add-on goodies (either a griddle or a grill but it had to have one or the other). Grill was my first choice (live in Wisconsin where it's too cold to grill outdoors for a lot of the year) but was totally OK with the griddle, reasoning that I know I'll use it a lot more than the grill. (My mom had a wonderful old Okeefe & Merrit with center griddle.)

On that note, I'll add a few more ways to use the griddle. The Wolf griddle is thermostatically controlled; at the low end, you can use it for a plate warmer, food warmer (instead of a warming drawer), preheated & turned off as a proofer, unheated or preheated/ shut off as a thaw plate, landing spot for hot pans.... I expect that the SS griddle cover will end up getting stashed so I'm planning for a spot to store it!

datura, yes burgers can be messy. My dh bought me a commercial cleaner and when we use the griddle he gets to clean it. So I can't complain. I always leave the griddle cover on when not in use. I opted for the AG 36" with the gridlle and I paid $6200. I couldn't justify the additional $1500 for dual fuel. I don't use my oven a lot and I figured cleaniing it shouldn't be too bad, which it hasn't been.

It's a whole lot easier and cheaper to use a separate griddle/grill pan and have those 6 burners when you need them, and then pull out the pan for those occasions when you might want to griddle.

I have a seperate jenn-aire griddle installed right into my counter top next to the stove. It has the griddle ( pancakes) and the grills for hb.,steaks,etc. Has glass top to fit over it when not in use. Love it!

I don't know if you guys are helping me or giving me more options. I'm heading into town today and will stop at several other appliance stores and check on prices.

ci lantro,

I really don't need the six burner. We also are in Wisconsin but do grill all year. I have two microwaves and I use both daily. I'd never give one up. I'm a retired Home Economist and cooking is big part of my life. Last night when I couldn't sleep, I was debating gas or induction and I really don't know if I want to deal with cleaning the grates on the gas. I have a JennAir now and my smooth tops look wonderful - very easy to clean -it's just the cooking that sucks. I also have never used the grill in the 25 years we've had it. I think we will try it in the next couple weeks. We haven't because I figured it would be too messy - grates all dirty - much easier to use the grills outside. I use to use the griddle but it's a teflon one and I don't like it.

We retro-fitted a 30" Viking range top into existing cabinets and picked up an all-clad griddle for about $60. on sale. I'd say it depends on space and budget.

Only to collect dust. I have a GE Profile and the area the griddle is in is too small to do any really serious cooking on it. If I had my druthers to do it over, I would have gone a different route.

I got the Bertazzoni 36" in cooktop. It has six burners, and a griddle that can go over two of the burners.

I use the griddle every single day. I'm actually surprised at how much. I don't need six burners too often, so I usually leave the griddle up and the grates stored, but it was nice to have the six burners during Christmas cooking.

I debated about the 36"/30" thing too, but decided if there was a chance I would ever want 36", then I wanted to cut my granite and build my cabinets accordingly. It's a lot harder (and more expensive) to do all that later. I'm so glad I went 36"!

Datura--I bought the 36'' Wolf rangetop w/ 4 burners & center griddle. (It's not installed yet.) I'd never need 6 burners either and if I did, I could work around it by using a crock pot, etc.

All this griddle talk made me get DH to go by grocery today while he was out today. We're having pancakes tonight. :D

Beside the obvious use of a griddle I know someone that uses it to keep pans of food warm. If you don't think you would use it often enough to justify the cost as someone said there are double burner griddle/grill pans available. Lodge for one.

I stopped at three appliance places today and I think I'll forget about the 36" with the griddle. That's just too much money.

So now I have to decide on 30 " dual range, a 30 " induction or a 36" induction with a wall oven (Wolf E series). I think I'll start a new thread about comparing them.

Thanks so much for all your comments.

As eandhl stated, it is great to keep pans warm etc.

Another thing I like to do(I have a 48" Bluestar with griddle AND grill). I get the griddle really hot, turn it all the way up to 550. Then I will sear a nice thick(2") steak on both sides for only a minute or two each side to give a nice sear and outer crust. Then I will throw it on the grill to cook it to a nice medium rare. Sooooooooooo delicious!!!