I assume you are looking for gas, not electric or induction, right? I am very happy with my Dacor PGM-365. The brushed (sandblasted?) stainless surface is easy to clean, nice heavy duty grates, plenty of power, good layout, and 2 of the burners do a great low temp simmer. I also love the looks of it. And there are cool blue indicator lights on the knobs that let you know when the flame is on. My only complaint, and it is minor, is that on high, the flame is distributed around the outside of the pot, and the center is cooler. I think BS and GE Monogram have the star-shaped burners to solve that problem. Anyway, I'd do the Dacor again, if I had to do it over again. I'm really enjoying it.

I appreciate all the replies on this thread. I liked the Viking 'designer' line gas cooktop, but it's performance specs are not as good as DCS or Monogram. Oddly the specs on their "professional" cooktop weren't any better. I want power and simmer. The dual burners on the DCS and Monogram seem to offer that the best. Also their burners have cast brass instead of steel. Even the pricey Thermador doesn't use brass, and it 'clicks' the burner on and off to maintain a simmer. So now it's down to choosing DCS or Monogram based on their layout, reliability and customer service. This is where I really reply on the postings here. I'll take some of my big pots to the good store next week and verify I can use them with both. I'm going to have double ovens installed next to the cooktop. I want big drawers beneath it. I'm planning on the Electrolux (not ICON) ovens because they have the best mix of features I really want, and I like its styling better than Monogram. I also looked at Viking "Designer" ovens and a Bosch. I really like them for their looks and using knobs instead of an electronic interface. They have the features and power that I want, but I'm too concerned about reliability. I haven't heard ANY complaints from the owners of Electrolux ovens! So I chose better reliability over knobs. Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm still in "planning" phase with my remodel. Tear out begins in a week. It will be about 8 weeks (I hope) before I installed mew equipment and test it out.

Hi, I guess I could have posted this in any of several threads about cleaning stainless steel, but since I do have the BS 36" drop-in, I thought I'd post it here. In retrospect, I might have preferred the rangetop, as castironcook2 purchased, but it was $1K more expensive and would have involved more extensive carpentry to get it into our nonstandard countertop. But I'm very happy with the new BS (just a couple of months old at this point). I am running into the cleanup issues, and I'm paying attention to your recommendations (here and in other threads). Simple detergent and water is not working for the splatters any more, so I will be looking for something stronger. There is an old SS hood above the cooktop (from the 1950s?) that was so grungy nothing would clean it. Then I recalled that I have easily cleaned my metal bicycle parts with kerosene, and since this old hood was due for replacement soon anyway, why not try it on the hood? It worked fantastically. Years of grime disappeared in seconds, and now it has a nice matte shine to it. I would feel safe using it on the cooktop too, but I'd like to try something a bit less heavy-duty first. So your suggestions are welcome.

I think what happens is that you just won't get the portable out to boil water. We lived for about 6 months without the kitchen. Our el-cheapo portable induction was a life saver and I thought I would use it to boil water and cook stuff in summer. I have yet to get it out of the drawer where it lives (18 months so far). I did get an outdoor stove with two 30k btu burners that I am really liking and using a lot - even in this heat wave. I like cooking outside. Somehow, its ok to tote all the food outside but to get the induction gizmo out of a drawer. I have no experience with the Capital, but the burner designs resemble each other somewhat. I am not claiming equivalence in any way but a lot of heat, straight up from a lot of small jets. I never turn it all the way up, even to boil water - it sounds like a jet engine when I do that. At medium, its more than twice as fast as the POC range in my kitchen at doing anything. If I got to re-choose with money as no object, I think I would get a induction top and a solid plate or Teppanyaki style griddle - those would cover about 90% of my cooktop needs. Small funny story - I didn't realize that it was even possible to get a pan hot enough to spontaneously ignite oil - but guess what, I can! lmao. Also, my cutting board that fits over the prep sink just fits over a burner :)