As our seemingly never ending kitchen project (or disaster depending on the day) drags on,I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I just hope that light isn't a train coming my way.

I finally installed above referenced range and I have to say; I love it.

In my last residential kitchen remodel (2003) (hereafter referred to as House A), I installed a 6 burner Thermador range-top. I was satisfied with its overall performance, but a few things did bother me.

Like many, the seemingly incessant and annoying clicking of the extralow setting was bothersome to a small extent. I read for months here the vast numbers of people that railed against this feature (I wonder how many that complained actually owned one of these units... and how often did they actually use that feature (I used it very rarely over 9 years)... anyway I filed that annoyance away for future consideration.

Cleaning the stainless beneath and around the star burners was, simply put, a p-i-a. I had to use oven cleaner **cough, gag..wretch** to clean it and took to protecting the ceramic ignitors with aluminum foil during the cleaning process. 9 years in and it still works wonderfully.

Soooooo..it is time to replace my inefficient kitchen(House B) and all appliances therein, including a Thermador 4 burner cooktop with downdraft. This was truly the biggest POS cooking surface I had used, since, uhm, well, forever.

So for over a year I read and compared and shopped and touched just about every range on my short list. Some brands were dismissed for less than stellar recommendations here and there, as well as miserable customer service reputations (rhymes with Hiking)...I went round and round; open v. sealed, oven capacity, AG, Dual Fuel and also had to factor in the DW's opinion on aesthetics.Some of my finalists got a thumbs down on appearance.

After whittling down the list I chose the Pro Grand AG 36" range. I am delighted so far with its performance, styling, features and the improvements over "House A's" range-top.

My fave things in no particular order: porcelain coated tray beneath pedestal burners; this is a major improvement for clean-up. upgraded igniters for extralow setting, it is virtually silent and efficient, usually one click and done. I really like the soft close door feature, if you close the door to about 6 inches away, it finishes the trip very gently. Inside the oven, all the settings one might need (Roast, Convection, Bake,Broil and Self Clean) including a "Keep Warm" setting.It also has a temp probe for roasting. Did I mention a cavernous oven capable of accepting commercial sheet pans? ( I have several of these pans and about a 1000 sheets of pre-cut parchment paper, so I'm ecstatic to finally use this stuff again). I added the 22" high shelf to keep plates hot when using the oven(and it does get toasty up there), but as I have an aversion to putting hot food on cold plates, it is a perfect match for me.

Some have remarked about the wide spread pattern of the burners, however, as I mostly use 12" or 14" skillets and my stock pot is 24 qt, it is a non issue for me for the style of cooking I do here.

anyway..my $.02, adjusted for inflation.

next: how my cabinet maker made the cut-out for the microwave an 1" too narrow and other entertaining screw-ups!