in the cooking school we might clean the grill once every 2 or 3 weeks, i don't suppose you will need to do anywhere near as often as that unless you wish to do so.

I have found IR Grills to be very powerful, I think I am correct in saying that the Wolf only has one setting (Real Hot) which I personally don't think is a good idea, on the other hand the Capital is variable from high to low (much better in my mind).

The Bluestar we use on our 60" range works very well for our students, its not to hot but hot enough to do any job we ask of it. If there is a down side its the time it takes to heat the cast iron grates to a temp so it will sear meat on contact, maybe a heat up time of 20 mins. While this is not a problem to me (turn it on 20 mins early) I know for some its just not fast enough. i am sure that the grill in the garden needs ample time to heat up prior to dropping something on the grate.

Trevor - thank you for your reply.

Would you mind giving your opinion on the IR grill offered by Capital, since you carry that line, as well? (Also, the rotisserie, if that's OK?)

When it comes down to it & I'm "honest" with myself, the grill should not be a major driver in the choice of cooking appliance. From what I've seen demonstrated on your website, the BS has the most convincing story wrt burner output and evenness.

Thanks - Jo Ann

That's interesting Jo Ann about the grill not being the driving force. For me it was what it was all about. I was getting a grill and it was at the TOP of the list. I just finished a grilled turkey club sandwich. Fantastic. Everytime I use it I think money well spent. DEE lish.

The grill was important to me, and the Wolf one is fantastic.

Well, whenever I say how much I want a good grill for my range, the majority of the responses are "grill outside, especially if you will be in SC". My head is spinning.

There are just the two of us. I will grill for us frequently if I have an indoor grill. I would only grill for company when in SC if I have to do it in an outdoor kitchen which will be a level below the main living area. I don't do any grilling now, even though there is a gas grill a few steps out the back door, but that has more to do with hating the heat, humidity and bugs in Houston.

Unless I find some other candidates, my trade space is between the Blue Star and the Capital. My guess is that the Capital ceramic IR grill is easier to clean than the BS grill. The Capital grill is 18,000 BTU & I believe has finer control than the Wolf grill. The Capital also has a rotisserie in the oven which I think I would actually use. My mom had a countertop rotisserie oven & my birthday dinner request was always for a rare beef roast done on the rotisserie.

Then, my thinking turns to the type of cooking I do the most of which is on the burners. It sure looks like open burners are the way to go, so that is a serious knock against the Capital. So, I'm left with weighing the IR grill of the Wolf against the "superior" (per the Eurostoves videos) burners of the BS.

Oh, and add to that the confusion created by the executive chef at the Wolf showroom who told me to get the Wolf DF with closed burners and a griddle for searing. Well, I could afford it, but I just don't want to put the extra money into a Wolf DF as opposed to an AG if I went Wolf.

Please, keep the inputs coming. I don't expect anyone on the forum to make my decisions for me, but I do appreciate getting feedback on what y'all have and why you like (or dislike) it.

Thanks - Jo Ann

Jo Ann - Your line of thinking mirrors mine almost exactly. I live in MN and I love the idea of being able to grill conveniently in the kitchen. I like my steaks medium rare to rare, and the BlueStar grill just doesn't look hot enough. The Capital grill looks great and the rotisserie oven could be fun (and I don't hear about the oven door requiring diligent maintenance to avoid it freezing up like the BS). But I too am sold on the BlueStar burners (even heating, great control, easy clean-up). I'm actually having good luck with pan-searing steaks, but I'd still love to grill veggies, brats, etc. in the kitchen. I'm thinking one option would be to get an all-burner BS, and then buy a Miden Master Range Top Grill. Not quite as convenient as a built-in one, but if it performs well and cleans up easy, it might be a feasible solution. Sorry I don't have any experience to contribute with any of these, but if I make a decision before you do, I'll post the results.

I have some pictures of the grill and rotisserie in use on our website

Here is a link that might be useful: Grill pics

I have owned a BlueStar for 4+ years now and have never had an issue with the door. I do not Maintain it either. I think this is greatly overblown. For peace of mind, spray some PAM on the hinges every 3-4 months and you are golden!
Good luck!

We are looking for a rangetop with grill and I am with john.com, the grill is at the top of my wish list. The weather where we live makes it easy to grill outside year round but it's a pain going outside to tend to the grill and having to cook up veggies or whatever inside. So something gets burned and it's usually the steak.

The grill on the Capital is described as Infra-Q but upon limited examination, it looks like the ceramic element is there to distribute the heat, not provide the heat source as it does in the Wolf. The heat source seems to be that which is found in a gas grill. So while not infrared like Wolf, it seems to be a hybrid and effective based on Trevor's video on the capital culinary website.

Just wondering if Trevor had anything to add regarding the grill and the cooking surface, which seems to be stainless steel on the capital precision and cast iron on the capital culinary. If internal cleaning is needed once every couple of weeks and not after every usage, that's great.

The open burners on the Cap Culinary seem to make the combo the preferred choice for us at this time. At least that's what the wife says. I was originally thinking of the Viking rangetop/grill because I liked the fact that the grates/grill were all the same height and convenient for pushing pots around. But that is probably less important compared to better burners and possibly a better grill. The Viking grill design reminded me of my weber gas grill. I have not seen much feedback or any videos on the Viking website about their current grill. It looked pretty good at the store but it's not like we got to try it.

drjoann,

I'm getting an indoor grill for the first time in our new kitchen. I've always been one of those nay-sayers you talk about but I always say, *only* you can say what is important to you. So ignore anyone who tells you an indoor grill isn't a good idea or a griddle is too hard to care for or whatever. If you do your research and understand what it takes to clean and maintain it, then you are the only one who can decide if it's worth it.

Since it seems from your post that you are not aware that Capital is about to come out with an open burner range, take a look at the link below. Also you can search here for "culinarian" and find quite a number of discussions about this new range. Trevor is taking pre-orders for this range at a presumably lower price. The range is scheduled to be shipped sometime in September. I'm hearing mid Sept for delivery.

Here is a link that might be useful: Eurostove's Capital Culinarian site