I just got back from looking at the 30" model. It was hooked up, so I saw the burners in action, but there was no hood so I couldn't actually try it out to cook anything. I have attached a link to some pics of the burners, drip pans/tray, etc. My initial thoughts, in no specific order... 1. As with all the American Range ranges, it is very well put together. Seams and corners are finished nicely. Understated look, less industrial by far than bluestar but not overly softened...just really straightforward pro-look. 2. The approach is a little different than bluestar, there is both a drip tray under everything and also separate drip pans under/around each set of two burners. More like the Bluestar drop-in cooktop, less like the range. Reminded me a bit of the Jade residential open burner ranges. 3. The drip pans are black enameled steel, and are very deep - seems like the likelihood of things actually making it to the drip tray is pretty slim. They also, however, don't seem to have any obvious way to get a grip on them to remove them...it was a bit fussy when I did it. 4. All the burners click when you ignite any single burner. 5. The center area on the 30" is a removable stainless steel piece...I don't know if they are going to offer an optional grate, but it seems like it would be really simple to get something to work even if they don't. 6. Unlike the other American Range ranges, the grates are free-floating...there are no "dents' for the feet to rest in and hold them in place. AS a result, the grates move around a bit more, and are noisier...this is especially noticeable because of the other "moving parts" (i.e., the drip pans and tray)...its a little "clanky." 7. My big reservation...the grates are really, really high. Pots are going to end up really far above the flames, which kind of seems to defeat the purpose of having super-powerful burners. I would be concerned that in the real world a lot less heat would be transferred to the pan on this than on, say, a bluestar (or probably a culinarian, but I haven't actually seen one of those in person yet). I may be wrong about this, but it worries me...I hope somebody does do some real world comparison testing soon. That's it for my iniitial thoughts. If anybody has any specific questions, feel free to ask and if I can answer it based on my look today I will. Here is a link that might be useful: pics

We have the Wolf 36 inch rangetop with charbroiler. It does take some getting used to but we love it. We have tried all of the foods that John above mentioned. Key to steaks and fish (salmon steaks) for us has been the brief searing on the grill and finishing in the oven, as he mentioned. Restaurant style, for a reason. We had a real epiphany recently when we did a whole slew of vegetables including Vidalia onions, asparagus, and red peppers. They were beyond fabulous, easy to do, limited smoke/mess. My daughter is planning to grill fuit--we have not tried that yet. We turn on the vent hood (Broan) before the grill, leave the hood running about 20 minutes after finishing, and it pulls out all the fumes. No next-day reminder of the salmon dinner. I don't know about grills other than this one, which every sales person discouraged us from buying. We are happy that we got it. Wolf does wonderful (and free) demonstration dinners at distributor showrooms. Worth seeking out if you live near one, as we do. Good luck!

I have a CC but I'm sure they're all very similar. It takes about a minute for it to light and come up to broiling temps. Basically as long as it takes for the glow plug to get hot. I usually fire up mine as I'm preparing the food for the broiler so it's ready when I'm ready. I think one time I fired it up as an afterthought, and I waited a couple of minutes anyways to let it get good and hot. I didn't actively monitor it. I just turned away to do something else and came back to it. But it was ready so it was a non-issue for me. My range vents out the back, so smoke from broiling has not been issue. I'm sure the Wolf and Viking are similar in this regard. One thing an IR broiler does not do well is blackening. For that, you'll still have to use cast iron and deal with the smoke.

The glowbar igniters are a really old and proven technology. You'll find it in lots of gas appliances (e.g. water heater, furnace, ovens, ...) as they are so safe. Whenever the thermostat calls for heat, it turns on the igniter. As a first approximation, a glowbar igniter is the same thing as an incandescent light bulb without the protective glass shell. It draws a couple of hundred watts and uses that to produce heat. Right next to the glowbar is a temperature activated gas valve. As long as no heat it produced (i.e. glowbar doesn't call for heat or glowbar is defective), no gas flows. This is very safe. But if the valve detects sufficient amounts of heat, it opens and gas flows over the glowbar and ignites. This is damn simple and there is very little that can fail catastrophically. So, it is inherently a safer design than using click igniters. Those are good for the stove top where a person can supervise the burners. But the oven has to work even when it cycles on/off without human intervention. The downside, of course, is that this glowbar behaves just like an incandescent bulb. Some bulbs live for decades, most live for a couple of years, and a small number dies within months. Same is true for glowbars. Nothing much you can do about it. Fortunately, they are cheap and standardized components. Every appliance manufacturer buys from the same factory. And yes, gas ovens always cycle on/off completely. There generally isn't a great way to modulate heat output. This is a noteworthy difference when compared to electric ovens, which frequently can keep constant temperatures much more easily. For many dishes, that doesn't actually matter. But there are some that do in fact cook much better in an electric oven. And I guess the reverse is true too.