" Posted by Bungalow14 BS (and AR and CC) are elite/boutique brands that sit comfortably outside of the mainstream." This in and of itself might be why some would consider it a status symbol. Of course none of the present company would be included in that. :-)) It is all in your perception. I know someone who bought a top of the line Frigidaire as a status symbol. I used to work with someone that bragged about his SZ frig, but it was lost on his coworkers because they had no idea what it was. BS is much more available now than 8 years ago. We have a dealership in our town now. It would be hard from individual stories of people we know that haven't heard of it to say how well known the brand is and how this has changed. Look on BS's front page to see all the magazine that have had BS in them. " But the most experienced chef can't sear on a Wolf gas burner as well as an average cook can on Bluestar. No amount of preheating on cast iron makes up the difference in power. " How many BTUs does it take to sear a steak well. Will 20K work? 19K? 16K? 12K? The answer is all will work because it is about the amount of heat the pan can hold rather than the rate at which the pan will heat. If you google and read, some have used even 12K to produce a surface of 600F+ which I am thinking is hot enough. If you read what J. Kenji López-Alt has to say, once the CI pan is heated, you can sear a steak without additional heat added. In his article about searing a steak, he talks about all the variables except the source of heat. This is why cooking forums talk about pans more than burners. from chowhound " I put two cast iron pans--one 10" Wagner and one comal--on my standard consumer gas stove. Sorry, I don't know the BTU output. I put the gas on full blast, waited a while, then starting taking measurements. The pans smoked pretty heavily from 450F to 500F as the coat of fresh peanut oil burned off. The smoking subsided and the temperature continued to rise. After the pans crossed 600F they started smoking again and the hottest spots changed color from black to greyish silver. I figured the seasoning was starting to break down, so I shut the gas off. I have no doubt the temperature would have continued to climb had I kept the burners on. The highest temperature I recorded was 626F on the Wagner, 612F on the comal." Here is a link that might be useful: How hot does a cast iron pan get?

I agree with Gary, don't bother indoor grilling if you have such mild weather. Ventilation becomes a much bigger issue, and even with a powerful hood, all that smoke... no thanks. Re: Wolf ovens, know that if you want the "new design" avoid the L series. They will be replaced with the M series late this year that will have the removable bottoms, but that will be quite the wait. I believe that the new generation of the E series which has already been released has the removable bottom though. Research all you want, but these ovens have not been on the market very long and nobody has owned them long enough to prove anything. Of course the salesman will say they've fixed the problem, but who trusts salesmen? Or he may just pull the classic Wolf salesman move of denying the problem ever existed, or saying it was fixed years ago. I think it might be more helpful to call Wolf and ask them about it. It seems that Wolf is more honest about their products than salesmen are. "You don't really need a flame thrower rangetop to cook steaks well. A good and well seasoned cast iron skillet on an average gas top will produce fine results" Well of course nobody NEEDS a flamethrower rangetop. But pretending that a 15K BTU sealed burner will do as good of a job as a 22K open is just ignoring the truth. Maybe the result won't be that different, but cooking on high performance burners is just a better experience. It's hard to explain to someone else in words, but most people will understand what I'm talking about once they've tried it. Of course, BTU's aren't the only thing that matter. Burner design matters more. I like open burners better and would take a 15K Bluestar burner over a sealed 18K burner any day. Different people have different needs but I'm convinced that for the majority of people at least, high BTU open burners are the best choice if they are in the budget. And you don't need to be a professional chef to benefit from them, I think any home cook can. Now, I personally prefer induction, but if you are looking in that price range and are getting gas, I don't see why you should spend as much as or more than the cost of an open burner range and get an inferior product.

Wolf was not helpful with my range. They will supply a new part but they are not willing to give a quote for labor. The labor starts at $800 and the part is only guaranteed for one year. With the, ongoing issues that have plagued their blue enamel(some here have been through three ovens), we decided not to throw more money away. The oven can only be used on non convection with a covered dish to prevent glass shards from getting in our food. They have made no attempt to modify the Wolf DF yet like they have with the M oven. I am wishing that I could find a DF range to replace it but nothing seems that great. That is why I would recommend a separate rangetop and wall ovens. You can pick each component for performance and if the oven goes out in the range, you are not stuck replacing the whole thing. I would try to learn as much as you can about how the ovens work. Interestingly you cannot go by manufacturers web sites and you have to be wary of a lot of marketing. There are threads here and on chowhound about gas and electric ovens and how convection works. Wolf has about gas ovens-"the gas convection oven produces the moist heat so coveted by bakers". Initially gas ovens produce moisture from combustion but there is more ventilation in a gas oven so the moisture is lost. This provides less humidity in the oven. This is good for roasting meats because the dry heat produces browning and crispness. In bread baking you want moisture in the first half of baking. This promotes starch gelatinization and helps with rise and crust. Many bakers add steam. It is more difficult to keep the steam in a gas oven. Some bakers put a cast iron pan with lava rocks and water to keep humidity in so there are work arounds.

I think you will have to see them in-person. However, unless they are installed side-by-side, I don't think there will be an issue. Oh, and I recommend an induction cooktop over traditional electric. What I do think is an issue is your design - Cooktop in the island???? Downdraft instead of a true hood???? Are there no other options? I'd rather have the cleanup sink in the island than the cooktop. Downdrafts are notoriously ineffective (and noisy & expensive) range hoods. Finally, you spend far more time prepping next to a sink than you do cooking - in fact Kitchen work studies show: 70% or more time spent in the Kitchen is spent preparing a meal or snack 20% or less is spent cleaning up - and that includes not just sink work (soaking/hand washing a few items), but also non-sink work such as loading the DW (if you don't pre-rinse your dishes - which you should not be doing), unloading the DW, clearing the counters & table, wiping down the counters & table, and sweeping up at the end of the day. 10% is spent cooking - stirring, adding ingredients, watching food cook So, it makes more sense to put the cleanup sink in the island than the cooktop - if you must have one in the island. Ideally, you wouldn't have either in the island - I'd have both on the perimeter and, if the island is big enough and facing the cooktop, a prep sink in the island - but it all depends on the workflow of the kitchen's design. . Questions: Will you have a prep sink in the island and at least 36" b/w the sink and cooktop (42" would be better)? And, at least 9" b/w the sink and island edge on the other side of the sink (18" would be better)? Will there be at least 24" of space on the non-sink side of the cooktop for landing space/emergency landing space as well as a safety buffer b/w the cooktop and the edge of the island? If there is no sink in the island, then there should be a minimum of 24" on each side - for safety reasons. However, 24" isn't enough for workspace - so you should have at least 36" on one side and 24" on the other side of the cooktop. If there is seating behind the cooktop, will there be at least 24" b/w the back of the cooktop and the seating overhang edge? I strongly recommend you post your layout here for review. People here are more than willing to help you with a layout. If you are willing, we have a FAQ that discusses asking for Layout Help: How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767033/how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-and-what-information-should-i-include . In addition, we have a set of Kitchen Design FAQ threads that will help you understand the comments above and any others you receive: Kitchen work zones, what are they? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638270/faq-kitchen-work-zones-what-are-they Aisle widths, walkways, seating overhangs, work and landing space, and others http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638304/faq-aisle-widths-walkways-seating-overhangs-work-landing-space-etc How do I plan for storage? Types of Storage? What to Store Where? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638376/faq-how-do-i-plan-for-storage Ice. Water. Stone. Fire (Looking for layout help? Memorize this first) http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2699918/looking-for-layout-help-memorize-this-first . There's also a "Read Me" thread that has the above links and other information: New to Kitchens? Read Me First! http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638784/new-to-kitchens-read-me-first