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Originally Posted by Internalharm  36" Blue Star Cook-top (22k btu gas) or 36" Wolf Range-top (16k btu gas) Both are 6burners. Which one to choose? |
Pro look residential cooktops are a lot more residential than pro. The reason? Home gas lines are much smaller than commercial kitchen gas lines. The burners cannot and do not get as hot as true restaurant stoves. As a home cook that won't and shouldn't cramp your style because we do things differently at home.
Mostly that extra heat from a pro stove (and perhaps the Blue Star too) allows you to bring large pots to the boil quickly; and also preheat saute pans quickly. But that's not something you do at home. You could hold a pan an inch over a maxxed flame with one hand, while using a table spoon to simultaneously saute and baste a thin fish fillet (loupe de mer, anyone?). If that's your kind of cooking, you may want the extra power. On the other hand, remember what I said about gas lines. Check with an installer to make sure you have enough flow to really get 22K BTU out of the Blue Star.
Another big-burner task is wokking. A dedicated wok burner is a VGT if you do a lot of Asian cooking.
Anyway... The true differences between various pro-look stove tops are features, reliability and whether or not you can get efficient local repair. Call stove repair shops in your area, tell them you're looking for a high end pro-look tops and ask for their recommendation.
When you do choose a top make sure you understand your manufacturer's and retailer's warranty and repair policies -- including cost of home vists and guarantees against delay. Make this part of your negotiation.
Jade has the best reputation for quality among the highest end pro-look tops and ranges.
Residential Wolf has little to do with pro Wolf except the nanme, logo and red handles. Pro Wolf is a separate company, residential Wolf is Sub Zero. Residential Wolf has the reputation of being the most expensive money can buy. Although, it seems they're becoming more competitive.
You might want to rethink the single stove-top, single built in oven thing. A 48" top with a built in griddle and grill would be a great primary top, but you're probably going to want more than four burners.
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42" Viking Side by SideRefrigeratorr or 42" Subzero Side by SideRefrigerator. Which one is better/ the one I should get?
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It doesn't matter. A refrigerator is a box that keeps things cold. Either will do -- but don't fool yourself, neither will do it any better than a regular Kenmore. Also, if you're not familiar with these kinds of built ins, you should know they're very shallow inside.
IMO, you're better off building your refrigerator wall (or part of it, anyway) a couple of inches so you can make a regular depth roll in look like a built in.
You should also know that if you're trying to get the true high end of the high end in home refrigerators -- the slab o' stainless that is truly the creme de la creme, it's the Cold Tech four door.
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30" Wolf Oven E Series. Was thinkin of Viking but I do want the dual fan.
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Nice looking oven, and not a bad choice at all if you don't mind spending Wolf bucks. However same thing I said about pro-look stove tops refrigerators is true about ovens. The best oven for the money in pro-look is probably the double-door American (American Range) -- geat doors, great broilers, great convection.
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24" Viking Custom Front Intelli-Wash Dishwasher - DFB450
Viking was the only one I can think of, any suggestion?
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Stainless dishwashers look pretty much alike. Top end Westinghouse, Maytag and Kenmore will get your dishes just as clean.
FWIW, I think that particular Viking dishwasher is build by Akso in Sweden and is actually a pretty good dishwasher, but from a quality and/or performance standpoint it's not worth the extra dough.
Personally, I like the two drawer dishwashers -- or the idea of them anyway. You can pretty much live out of your dishwashers and never put dishes away. Appealing. Unfortunately, they don't have a good reputations for reliability.
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36" Wolf Pro Wall Hood 24" Wide. Not sure if they come with optional dual motor.
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I don't know about you, but I want the most fan I can get. The rest of the hood is only styling. Kenmore makes an exceptionally high value, quite attractive, stainless hood. However, considering the level of the rest of your appliances I'd get a custom hood.
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24" Wolf Microwave. A little bit confused about the difference in: Convection Microwave, Microwave, and Drawer Microwave Oven.
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Half the cost of a Wolf microwave is the name. Even at 35% off...
A "microwave" is a regular microwave. The kind you use for heating cold coffee and making popcorn. A "convection microwave" is two ovens in one. Typically, they're small, underpowered convection oven combined with underpowered microwaves. But it depends, there are some good ones. Unless you want a small convection oven to go with your large one, the convection feature is redundant in your case. A drawer microwave is a large Sharp built to be installed below the counter.
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Wolf Warming Drawer. Not sure if I should get it or not? Is it really worth it?
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Probably not. Since money doesn't seem to be a constraint you're probably better off with a slide in 30" range where the warming drawer would otherwise go. Since it's an appliance mostly used for warming, holiday and party cooking, stock making and other spill-over tasks, you can go with a simpler, lower feature model. Considering the amount you're spending on appliances, a 36" top and a single oven isn't really enough cooking real estate for a serious cook.
Good luck,
BDL
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