NWR: stove recommendations, please

B

Brad Widelock

Brad Widelock
A kitchen remodel is upon us, and we need a new stove. Any suggestions? We were captivated by the Thermador Professional Series but have seen some negative reviews. We only need four burners, but want a range that has enough space for large cookware.

Thanks,

Brad
 
Main question is - do you have outside venting? If so you can go with high BTU burners. Blue Star is one that gets good press.
 
We put a Blue Star Platinum 48" range in our new kitchen about 9 months ago and love it. The ovens aren't great- they are much more uneven than previous ovens we've had (though you get used to it and non-Platinum models probably aren't as severe given the different heating elements). But the cook top is awesome- I can get the grill to over 1000 deg F; the open burner design means you get a full flame under the center of the pot instead of that ring around the edges; and the pull out drip tray makes cleaning the open burners very easy (when we get around to it).

FWIW, while we got by w/ 4 burner stoves for a long time and realistically don't need more than that, the extra 2 burners + grill/griddle do come in handy from time to time, e.g., two people can cook at the same time and not get in each other's way, and sometimes we do actually have 5 or 6 pots on the stove at the same time now.

Also, when researching ranges like this, you get a lot of opinions on features you have to take with a grain of salt. E.g., lots of people say the little oven on a 48" range isn't useful and rarely gets used. We use ours all the time, and is a great size for lots of things- it can fit a half-sheet pan. The other piece of advice we got consistently was to get the griddle instead of the grill because people love the griddle and no one ever uses the grill. The Platinum comes with swappable griddle / grill feature (part of the reason we sprung for it), and we use the grill just about weekly and have used the griddle 3 times, I think. In the summer, we use the grill for vegetables when firing up the Webber just isn't worth it. In the winter, we use it for everything.

Finally, some other opinions on brands... Capital seems to be very comparable to Blue Star, but we just thought the styling was hideous. Wolf has a reputation for the best quality control, which can be a pretty big deal, as well as the best broiler and grill elements, but you pay a lot for those red knobs and they no longer offer open burners. Everything else in this pro-sumer style / price point seems to be garbage. If you are looking for a 30" consumer grade range (or really any other appliance- we put a Samsung fridge in our remodel), go with the Koreans. In a kitchen we remodeled about 4 years ago, we put in an LG and were very happy with it. And Samsung should be pretty comparable. The consumer brands have been playing catch up to Samsung and LG for a while
 
Thank you, all, for your comments. Collin, thanks for your thoughtful and detailed reply. We need new everything, so this is really helpful.

Brad
 
Oh, I can recommend that you don't get Kitchenaid. It came with my condo. I look forward to the day my Kitchenaid range and refrigerator die. I like the dishwasher and microwave.
 
Good luck Brad. Having a new kitchen is awesome. One other thing- be careful about where you buy your appliances from. Service levels vary tremendously.

Jay- the contractor grade shit is, well, shit; my guess is that's what you have. But we put a KitchenAid fridge in our last remodel and were quite happy with it. I like our current Samsung a tiny bit better at a slightly higher price, but they are very close in quality (and actually, the KitchenAid made better ice).
 
Brad, 15 years ago I got a Thermador mixed-fuel consumer-grade range. It has been quite reliable and offers most of what we were looking for. We were constrained by our desire to fit it into the space occupied by the previous suck-ass range and not having to tear out cabinetry. I also was dead-set on a gas range top and electric convection oven. In an ideal world, I would have gone for a 30,000 BTU range top with wok ring and griddle, but given our constraints, the Thwrmador has given satisfaction.

Mark Lipton
 
Thanks again to all!

We went to Airport Appliance in Berkeley.

We decided on the Bluestar 30" RCS Series. It has the extra large oven capacity of 26" wide. My wife is delighted that she'll be able to bake two batches of cookies on one tray. I'm delighted that I'll be able to eat them. The salesperson said that the Wolfs and Thermadors of 15 years ago are no longer made to commercial standards. We are also going with a Whirlpool refrigerator, a Zephyr Venezia hood and a Bosch dishwasher (unless, of course, one of you tells me not to).

If passing through Marin County this summer, please feel free to stop by and you can see if for yourself. My wife will have cookies ready.

Brad
 
My comments are possibly a little late, but want to add my $0.02 anyway.

When we lived in Connecticut, we had a wonderous 60" Viking with 6 burners, a griddle and two ovens, but that was a 20-year old model and the current Vikings just aren't that great. When we moved to Austin, we downsized in so many ways, including reducing our stove and oven. But we still have a 6-burner Blue Star.

I love the cooktop - superb heating, open elements are easy to clean, the simmer burner works perfectly, though I would recommend spending an additional $30 to get a flame-tamer. I do quite a bit of wok cooking - just flip over the grate and there is plenty of heating power. I like that the grates are all at the same level, so I can quickly swivel pots around on the cooktop. The Blue Star is the closest I've seen to the old professional Garland ranges, and rumor has it that Blue Star used to make the burners for those Garlands. They certainly look quite similar, as I grew up cooking on a Garland range. (My mother had one installed in her house, probably violated every single fire and safety code, but it was and still is a great stove.)

The downside, and I agree with Collin, is the oven. It is slow to pre-heat and isn't as uniform as I would like. But it is large, and you can easily make the mental adjustments you need to bake cookies, bread, cakes, etc.

Oh, and one other huge plus in my book - there are essentially no electronics on the Blue Star. No stupid control boards to short out, no resistors to melt when the oven gets hot, no timers to reset whenever the power goes out, etc. In my book, simpler is almost always better. [KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid.]

P.S. On a dishwasher, we bought a Kitchenaid. Big, BIG mistake. Fortunately, my wife got an extended warranty, as we've already: replaced the entire dishwasher; replaced the control board 3 times; and replaced the pump once. Damn thing is only 2-years old. Crap stuff. When it next decides to die (and it died on Christmas Eve at 9PM, just before we had all my family members descend for the holidays) we will replace it. Let me know how you like the Bosch/Miele.
 
Either I've reached new heights of glory at WD or Oswaldo is referring to this: http://winedisorder.com/comment/56/6782/

We still like it. And I don't burn myself anymore on it either. I agree that the Blue Star build quality is great. I did wonder if the RNB 18k burner was really that much hotter than the RCS, but I will say it is very hot. The open burner thing gets pretty dirty, so if you're fastidious it might bother you, but it also has a certain culinary cool to it.

And Cliff is right, the Miele is worth it. We have a Bosch at the office and it sucks. The Miele silverware tray is great. We're sort of Miele tweakers - vacuum, even clotheswasher.
 
This thread is of great interest to me as i am gutting and redoing my kitchen as part of a larger renovation. Lots of decisions to make throughout the house (tile especially as i am getting not only a new kitchen but three new bathrooms) and the only decision i have made is which range - the 36 inch capital culinarian. I like the way it looks although i have only seen it online.

The comment about the grill interests me. I want one but everyone seems to think i won't use it much be ause i will find it tedious to clean it. No?
 
originally posted by Cliff:
In my experience, pay up for the Miele dishwasher. Our Bosch was expensive and did not work.
Click to expand...

We got a Bosch about six months ago and it's been great. We considered Miele (have one of their vacuums), but the Bosch 800 series was rated consistently higher. It's so quiet it shines a light on the floor while operating, so you don't open it during a wash cycle. Bosch has some less expensive options -- perhaps those aren't as nice.

Loading…

dishwasher-review.toptenreviews.com
 
originally posted by maureen:
This thread is of great interest to me as i am gutting and redoing my kitchen as part of a larger renovation. Lots of decisions to make throughout the house (tile especially as i am getting not only a new kitchen but three new bathrooms) and the only decision i have made is which range - the 36 inch capital culinarian. I like the way it looks although i have only seen it online.

The comment about the grill interests me. I want one but everyone seems to think i won't use it much be ause i will find it tedious to clean it. No?
Click to expand...

Maureen I've never been a big fan of indoor grilling: too much smoke for me, even with the best available ventilators. And it is a huge mess to clean. Never tried the Capital Culinarian, though you can tell I'm a huge fan of the Blue Star cooktop.

One other point about the Blue Star range/oven - with the oven on, the knobs for the stove get quite hot. Looks like they've corrected this fault in the latest models.
 
It's been said in this thread already, but it bears repeating that a range is only as good as the hood above it. I've had the chance to cook on a few really expensive stoves that were neutered because you couldn't crank them without fumigating the kitchen and neighboring rooms.
 
originally posted by Saul Mutchnick:
It's been said in this thread already, but it bears repeating that a range is only as good as the hood above it. I've had the chance to cook on a few really expensive stoves that were neutered because you couldn't crank them without fumigating the kitchen and neighboring rooms.
Click to expand...

Absolutely - we have a 1200 cfm and it's barely enough. All grilling occurs outside.
 
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