Yes, per the company, to get the newest MCOR model with the center cast iron grate: "Yes, please make sure when purchasing a unit the serial number ends in a letter âÂÂCâÂÂ. The units with the stainless steel in the middle will have a serial number that end in a âÂÂBâÂÂ." Is anyone who is knowledgeable willing to share an opinion whether the new manual clean model is on balance better or worse than the old CGMR model (which seems to be for sale some places)? Or even whether the simmer burner is a good thing or not (since one can still order with 4 uniform burners if one does not want the simmer or small pot burner)? Is the simmer burner a 23K burner with fewer holes, or is it an 8K burner? Does having a smaller burner make calibrating burners and keeping them calibrated a problem? Did Capital change anything else when they added back the middle cast iron grate? A spec sheet from October 2013 shows 25K burners not 23K??? FYI for anyone else out there who is shopping for a range, I have been told that the other differences between the old CGMR 304 and the MCOR 304 with the stainless steel strip in the middle are: MCOR can be installed with vertical gas supply coming out of floor; MCOR has about 33% larger oven capacity and fits a commercial size cookie sheet at the cost of removal of the glass cover from the broiler (so the broiler element gets dirtier, is harder to clean); MCOR has the one 8K small pot or simmer burner; MCOR oven door construction is all stainless steel and glass with flat glass panel instead of porcelain and glass with a 1.5 inch porcelain window pack; the bake (bottom?) oven burner is flush in the MCOR instead of having 1.5 inch high oven bottom cover; flush wire mesh broiler element instead of flush wire mesh under glass; no gas shut off valve on the MCOR; no rear casters on the MCOR; 2 instead of 3 oven racks on the MCOR; MCOR has flush island trim with vertical venting instead of 3 inch island trim with front venting. I think that's all of them.

If the vinegar and salt approach (that I've never heard of, but seems plausible) doesn't work, then the next step is phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid is the primary ingredient of car body cleaners (MetalPrep type) that are used before priming metal. Auto parts places selling to the body shop trade will have a PPG or DuPont version. Follow all directions, both for dilution and safety. None the less, no matter how well it is restored, discoloration will reoccur if enough heat is present, so maybe restoration is best done a day before showing off the kitchen. The phosphoric acid odor will linger for a while, depending on your ventilation. kas

I know I am a little late joining this conversation, but I found this thread, looking up a comparison between Viking and Capitol. These are my two finalists, but things have changed a lot with these 2 companies in the past 2 years, since the last comments were made. First of all, Viking, who was purchased by Middleby Corporation (approx. 3 years ago), has made significant changes to the entire product line at Viking. I am in the commercial kitchen equipment business, and Middleby Corp owns the finest cooking equipment companies in the commercial cooking business (Jade Range, Southbend Range, Wells Mfg., Lang Mfg., Pitco, Blodgett, Market Forge, TurboChef, Star Mfg., Magic Kitchen, Anets, Toastmaster, Nu Vu, Doyon, and more). I went to the big home show this past spring in Las Vegas, and spoke directly with the CEO of Middleby and asked him what he has done with the Viking line since he bought the company. He hired engineers to revamp everything in the line, and was very proud of his new 7 series ranges with their new burner design and chrome plated griddles. He let me know that he inherited a lot of service issues that he has addressed, both on the manufacturing side, and on the customer service side. I can tell you that working with their commercial division companies, they are very committed to customer satisfaction, and expedited service. Some of Middleby's commercial divisions are making components and ovens for their newer product additions (such as TurboChef ovens in their wall ovens). I can't tell you how these changes have impacted the lastest product offerings, but I can't imagine that the changes have made them worse. I did have a Viking 48" gas range in a house I sold back in 2008, circa 2004, and there were a lot of features I did not like. Burners were not good in simmer mode, gas oven was not self cleaning, and was very difficult to get clean. Charbroiler smoked out the house, whenever I tried to use it. But it added a lot of value to the house when I sold it. Now let's look at Capitol. The guy who owns Capitol, owned DCS, which used to be one of the "players" in the commercial range market. Their ranges were very attractive, performed well, but were not heavy duty enough for high volume restaurants (Wolf and US Range were the big players on the West Coast, where DCS and now Capitol are located.) As many companies have gone light weight, easy to clean, low maintenance, Capitol appears to be sticking with some of the old commercial designs, which pay off from a performance standpoint, but may intimidate some, from a maintenance standpoint. I am truly impressed with the open burners on the Capitol Connoisseurian and Culinarian ranges. I can tell you that not only the burner design, but the top grate design adds significantly to the performance of the burners. Their is a bowl/ring that is part of the cast iron grates that directs the heat back up onto the pans that is deflected down off the the bottom of the pan, containing the area. The open style grates, that are light weight and easy to clean, have no added qualities to the performance. I am impressed with the thermostatic griddle (which is also standard on the Viking). The old manual flame griddles got too hot and made them useless for breakfast items, and left the griddle only for meat and searing. The addition of a self cleaning oven on the all gas model is probably the biggest "plus" feature of the range comparing it to Viking. With Viking you have to go to Dual Fuel, which raises to price by a couple thousand dollars. To me, the downside of both of these ranges is that they don't have a real good computer control for the ovens, like you see in a regular domestic range. I would love some feedback from anyone who has bought these two products in the past 6 months or so, with the latest improvements, and the bugs worked out.

Not a "great cook" here but I cook a lot. Have a Blue Star RNB that I bought for very specific reasons that do not all have to do with cooking. I liked the looks, it fit in my old-house kitchen, loved the "Garland" burners. I admit it -- I liked the vibe of the stove. I liked its old fashioned no frills aesthetic, and I was also smitten by the idea of having a color. I do love having the power when I need it, and I do love the control. When you are making dinner for people and they are all standing around in the kitchen, it is nice to be able to get the pasta water up to a boil quickly. The simmer burner is excellent. I like flames. In a new house kitchen I would have chosen induction. But in this house the Blue Star is a perfect fit. One of the reasons I chose the Blue Star is that it is easy to completely dismantle the entire stove top and clean. That has continued to be a very appreciated feature because if you cook a lot, you clean a lot. I also found Iove being able to put full size trays in the oven because we make biscotti and granola on a regular basis. So my answer is -- buy a range that meets your very particular needs, both aesthetic and culinary, whether it is a professional range or not.