OK, my 2 cents - My DH and I will be re-building our house due to damage suffered by Hurricane Ike. Now, I get to build my "Dream" kitchen (within reason of course). The first thing I began researching were professional style ranges. I have looked at Wolf, Viking, DCS, Bluestar, Five Star and the professional versions of the GE, Jenn Air and Kitchen Aid. After much time researching, pricing and talking to owners of such brands, I have made my decision and it is the 48" Bluestar (not sure the configuration I want just yet). I wanted the 60", but our designer convinced me that my space really can't support the extra 12". SO, I reluctantly accept that I will not have 2 full size ovens. (I didn't want to have to have a wall oven, because I wanted the added cabinet space.) Anyway, to make a long story short - Initially my DH told me I could get *whatever* I wanted, so I never mentioned price, until one of our friends was looking at the house plans and pointed out the 48" range noted in the plans. He made the comment that you could almost buy a car for the price of some of those ranges... DH then looks at me and asks, just how much are they? I told him between 8K and 25K, depending on brand, size and configuration. I thought he was gonna faint! Later that evening he asked me why I hadn't told him how much they were. I *had* told him that they were ALOT more than our previous Jenn-Air Pro cooktop and wall oven. I wasn't hiding anything from him, he had said I could have *whatever* I wanted. I work hard, I travel alot, and when I am home we entertain quite a bit and he has seen me struggle with my 5 burner cooktop and single oven, for years now! He tried to convince me that there really is no difference between the GE that is 3K as opposed to the Bluestar @ 11-15K. I was shocked and upset that he would do this to me. I thought before I spoke and then I said very calmly, "Which would you rather have an 18Â john-boat or an 18Â Robalo?". Being the avid fisherman he is, he smiled and said, "Say No More!". I hope to be ordering my range some time in May or June.*SMILE*

We did the same and went with NXR. Researched for about a year, looked at everything but in our price range (wanted to keep it under $2000)the NXR was really the only choice. As far as burners go the NXR burners go from 600btu tiny double stack center to a full 15,000btu and all 4 are the same so I can have 4 ultra low simmer burners or 4 15,000 btu burners or anything in between and fit 4 large pots/pans on the range top at once. It has been easy to clean, great oven and racks, excellent infrared broiler. For less than 1/2 the price of most any other stove. Are there stoves just as good, maybe even a bit better than the NXR? Most definitely, but for under $2000 absolutely nothing even comes close. I mean really, how can you go wrong with a double stack burner that goes from this (15,000btu) Down to this a tiny little 1.75" burner with only 600btu and so low that the flame actually hides under the rim of the burner, you can actually melt chocolate on a paper plate with it. Anyone needs lower than that and you may as well just rub your hands together and heat the pot with your hand.

For the folks on the fence about the CC. Say the 30" manual clean is a stretch money wise, you only have room for the 30", you don't do Beef Wellington, souffles, wok cooking etc. on a regular basis if ever. I would add this... With a real good stovetop with great burners you will get better results with almost any meal save for stews, soups, and such. Searing,sauteing,pan frying you will get better results. This will encourage people to cook more and more challenging meals. Have you ever tried to do something from the food network or cooking channel and you follow the steps exactly as you see on tv or the computer? And somehow the results are not what you expected? These burners will help you get there. Friends and family will give you complements. Positive reinforcement. You will want to try more exotic dishes. This is exactly what happened with me in regards to my BBQ grill. I was doing an ok job with burgers now doing full tenderloins,tandoori chicken,grilling steakehouse perfect ribeyes.

I second on the smoked salmon. Smoked sturgeon is even better. We use Traeger pellets; for smoking we sometimes chip our own apple and cherry we've pruned and dried. But that takes a powerful chipper. The Traeger grills are different. For one thing, they run on electricity. That means you do have to have reasonable access to a power source. We have an outlet on the patio. Because of the way air circulates, you don't need a rotisserie and there are no flareups. That can be a big consideration for people who find grilling intimidating. I would compare it to learning how to use a new range. If you can figure out appliances, a Traeger is no problem. There are Traeger owners nationwide. It's a friendly group and I'm betting you could call Traeger to hook you up with someone in your area willing to show you how they work. Seeing the real thing can make a big difference. Then you can decide, "Yes, this is just what I want," or maybe you'll decide, "This isn't for me." Everyone has preferences. I've also linked below to the page on the Traeger site that explains how they work. That might help too. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: How Traegers Work