The AR seems to be lacking in electronics. Does that result in a quieter oven (no cooling fan)? I have not read of AR gas range owners complaining about oven noise. The lack of self-clean feature makes a cooling fan unnecessary Can the oven be lit with a match? No, only gas ovens with pilots can be lit with a match. Only commercial gas ovens and really inexpensive ranges targeted at off grid preppers getting ready for the end of the modern world have pilots now. AR and other pro-style ranges have glow plug oven ignitors. Do you need to stick an oven thermometer in to know when it's preheated? (Yeah, I know real bakers use those anyway!) There is reaching a given temp and then a stable temp. After trial and error you will now how long it takes to reach x temperature. And a general question about range ovens: is a 36" range oven much worse than a 30" for preheating? Seems sort of giant! In general it takes about 5 more minutes for a 36" oven to preheat vs the same brand and series 30" oven. Any other thoughts on open burner gas ranges? (I don't care if it's dual fuel or all gas.) There are 1970's standard semi-open ranges and commercial type pro-style true open burner ranges. These are Performer Series, Bluestar and Capital Culinarian. They have better performance than semi-open or sealed burners.

I was able to track down a retail outlet outside of the city that carries Capital but the Culinarian as I figured is priced at $5500, way out of budget. They have a discontinued model for $3200 but not sure which model. This post was edited by omega73 on Thu, Dec 5, 13 at 15:03

Follow up: We ordered the American Range and it's just been installed. So far there have been no issues and it's all I could hope for. Some minor notes based on concerns I've seen expressed elsewhere on the net: - It came packed very securely on a wooden palette in perfect condition. No rust, scratches, or any other issues. I didn't perceive any quality issues: parts seem sturdy, all cast metal and stainless steel, with no plastic in sight (even the knobs are cast metal). - While the grates are elevated pretty far above the burners, the high burner flames easily reach the bottom of the pan. I don't think I'll have any issues getting enough heat. - I love the fact that I don't have to turn the knob to a "lite" setting. Just turn the knob to whatever level you want and it automatically sparks until lit (if you blow it out, it automatically relights itself). - Simmer was initially way too high. After some research I figured out that under each burner knob, to the top/left of the shaft, there's a little set screw to control the simmer level. Turn on the burner to simmer, pull off the knob, and adjust clockwise to lower the flame to the desired level (if you go too far, the flame flickers and the auto-spark starts firing). I think the simmer on the lowest burner is as low as one might need. The high (25K BTU) burner simmer is still a bit high, and also as you adjust the set screw to the minimum level the high burner valve starts to make a slight hissing sound. - Granite company had no trouble at all cutting the granite, and the installers were able to retrofit everything into our existing cabinet (albeit with a lot of cutting of the cabinet and building a shelf for the cooktop to sit on).

I recommend posting in the Appliances Forum. There are many knowledgeable and passionate folks over there. And while you are at it, search that forum for posts on those ranges.