I have a Monogram 48" LP rangetop with a grill. I LOVE!!! my grill. Is that enthusiastic enough? I live in upstate NY so I'm in the same boat as far as outdoor grilling. Yes, mine gets way hot enough. I have nice grill marks and charr when I want it. It is very easy to clean - just a wet wire brush after grilling.
I find the temperature more even than my backyard grill.
It's also great for making pannini and grilling veggies.
Just make sure you have a range hood that can handle the smoke and you'll be fine. Maybe smoke is the wrong word, because it really doesn't smoke all that much, but the food does smell ...
I chose not to do a built in griddle because there are many nice after-market ones. I also don't see much difference between an electric griddle on a rangetop (which I believe that even on the LP rangetops, most griddles are electric) and a plug in electric griddle.
I opted for more burners.
Good luck

I have a Wolf 48" with a double griddle. We use it plancha, and while it does take a while to heat up, it does get very hot 400+ and holds the temp well. It is great for reheating leftovers as well especially pizza. Since the Wolf griddle is thermostatically temperature controlled, I also use it as a 5th/6th burner for simmer or keep warm tasks. The temp control also has allowed me to make some of the best eggs ever. Scramble or over easy the cook at just the right speed.

All in all we wouldn't trade it for anything and I am glad I got the double size one as well.

Make sure you get a good hood/blower combo since the griddle can generate a lot of smoke or steam depending on what you are cooking.

Here's my two cents -

Although we now live in sunny So Cal, we spent most of our lives in the northeast in Connecticut. When we lived in CT, we had a Thermador range with a grill, and we used the grill very frequently. I didn't care for other characteristics of the Thermador, but I did love having that grill and being able to grill regardless of the weather.

So, in your situation, I'd get a range with 6 burners and a grill. I would not trade off the space for the extra burners to put in a griddle...as the other poster said, you can either use a standalone electric griddle or you can put one of those big stovetop cast iron griddles over a couple of your burners and still have your 6 burners when you prefer to have them for other uses. Also, you'll have your grill, which will probably get more use than you imagine. Also, as the other poster said, make sure you have great ventilation because you'll need it with that.

That being said, ironically, I am leaning towards buying a DCS all gas 48" range with griddle because it has 5 burners and I don't need the grill...now that we live in So Cal, we grill outdoors year-round and it would be a waste to have one on the range top. Also, in the range I'm considering, the griddle is powered by gas and has a max output of 26,000 BTUs, which I imagine is pretty cool for searing stuff.

By the way, if you live near an Expo, I noticed that they have the GE Monogram 48" range with grill and griddle on the floor, in both of the two stores in our area. During their nationwide liquidation sale, all appliances are initially discounted at 10% and will be further discounted as the liquidation progresses. Might be worth taking a look at that if you have an Expo nearby.

Best of luck!

Susan

We have a GE Monogram 48" cooktop with the grill. While we like the grill, we are in Oklahoma and can grill outside almost all year. Actually. our outdoor grill is on the deck, under the overhang, just steps from the back door, so weather doesn't even stop us much.The grill works great, but we find we tend to go outdoors - partly because it is so convenient, and partly because hubby tends to grill large quantities. So, in the new house (under construction) we are putting in the griddle instead of a grill. The new cooktop will be a 60" Bluestar with a 24" griddle. Both hubby and my son cook and really like a griddle for short order items. The stand alone griddles aren't quite large enough for them. Hopefully I can use it also.

And BTW, the good hood is a necessity. It's not that the grill smoked all that much, but if you have marinades (particularly that include olive oil) on the food, they can smoke plenty! We have set off our smoke alarm more than a couple of times.

Thanks for all the answers so far -- I love this forum. Keep 'em coming!

As far as griddle/grill, I'm really torn. A good friend with a new Wolf 48" LOVES the griddle he got. He had a grill for years on a Jenn-Air and said it never got hot enough to really do what he wanted. But this griddle he uses all the time.

Chefnewbie... why is the built-in griddle better than a standalone? He says it's all about set-up/clean-up. No pulling it out, no plugging it in. No cleaning it thoroughly after and waiting for it to dry and putting it away. It's just always there.

Susan3733... so funny that you're leaning towards the DCS 48" 5 burner w/griddle. That's been slightly ahead of the pack for some time now. I really like the idea of that big central burner where I can drop my big 12" or 14" pan. Not so close to the front that the hood misses anything or splatters hit the floor, not so far back that it's a pain to reach. Now if only I could find a place to actually see it in person here in NYC!

Susan3733... yes, that 5 burner DCS has 26,000 BTUs on the griddle instead of 18,000 BTUs... (or 8,000 more which is a 55% improvement) but the griddle is also about 55% wider. Might the extra BTU simply be a distribution of the heat across a larger area and therefore it doesn't get any hotter? Any DCS owners with the 5 burners and extra wide griddle care to comment?

That's all for now -- keep the feedback coming all you range owners!

Peter

The Wolf grill gets super hot. So hot that you have to learn how to use it. Very happy with mine and would do it again in a St. Paul minute.

Did Wolf recently change their griddle? I heard there was a change in material and that the new griddle was not as good as the old. Just a rumour? Would love to know.

I had the 48" Dual-Fuel Wolf with both grill and griddle. Loved the grill, used it many, many times. Make sure you have enough VENTILATION!!! I only had 600cfm, should've had 1200cfm. Lots of unhooking of the smoke detector going on :)
Kebabs, chicken breasts and thighs, burgers - all turned out great. Did not use the griddle as much, neat to look at, but was a bit of a pain to clean. Well, not that bad; but a regular griddle was much easier.

My new house is far away from a gas line, and propane is out, so I am going the induction route. However, if I get back to the city, I would do the grill and the griddle again and wouldn't hesitate to purchase another Wolf. Their customer service was excellent and they really did stand behind their product.

Grendal, I also have the Wolf double griddle and I'm curious to hear about heating pizza. I never thought to do that on the griddle--I always use a pizza stone in the oven. What do you like better about doing pizza on the griddle?

I forget who mentioned someone's JennAir grill experience, but I wouldn't count out the grill based on that. I don't have a grill on my Wolf, but I did have one on a Jenn Air cooktop. Piece of crap, quiet frankly. I wouldn't judge grills based on it.

For my cooking style, the griddle made more sense and I haven't regretted it. I find it far superior to the portable cast iron griddles I used to have. The heat is much more balanced and I find it a snap to clean. It also makes a great work surface, when I'm just using the burners.

I'm in the market for a new range and can now get gas which wasn't always available on my block. I'd like a dual fuel or gas range with a grill in a 36 inch width. Does anyone know of one?? I've looked, but can't seem to find anything-amybe I'm not just looking in the right place.

carolyn116

Plenty to choose from. Wolf for sure and most other major mfgrs as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Click away here for Wolf

Awesome thread! I'm currently looking at 48" ranges as well, and I'm leaning towards the BlueStar w/ a 12" griddle and 12" grill.

Howcome no one is mentioning the Viking products?

I am looking myself and always thought Viking was the brand to get.

Thanks

Sharon_S
Sorry about the delayed response.
I have a baking stone as well and use it to bake pizza, but I use the griddle to re-heat cold or frozen leftover pizza. I microwave until just warm and then put on the griddle which heats quicker than the over and leave it on until I get the crust to crisp back up.

Grendal,

I happened to check into the site today and caught your note. Thank you. I'll give that a try next time we get pizza delivered. The crust is always soggy and not hot enough, so I usually through it on the stone, but I'll give the griddle a try.

Sharon

Any more folks weigh in on experience with bluestar grill? Leaning towards their 48" range with a 24" grill. Have been told grill-wise Wolf is the better choice, but like the BLuestar features overall. thanks

I have been debating between the Wolf 36" sealed burner rangetop and the Thermador 36" Pro Rangetop. It has dawned on me that I will NEVER use all 6 burners, therefore a grill or griddle is very appealing to me. There is a video on Wolf's website explaining a cleaning procedure that is supposed to be performed everytime you use the grill. It seems quite laborious. Can anyone comment on that (amount and frequency of cleaning)??
Also, what kind of price jump can I expect going from the Wolf 6 burner to the 4 burner with griddle?
Is there much difference between the Thermador griddle vs. the Wolf griddle?
thanks

Do you think people or their house keepers actually clean those grills like in the video???

The Wolf grill takes me about 15 minutes to clean. The grate is wire brushed while still hot and running. I have removed and do not use the diffuser. The grill frame takes a bit of scrubbing with a 3m green pad (not recommended) or soak overnight with Dawn Power Dissolver and covered with plastic wrap.

Is it generally OK to put a griddle plate over the grill? I have the Wolf 36" four-burner with grill, but don't plan on using the grill feature much as I have an outdoor grill right outside the kitchen door. One person (breezy_2) mentioned buying the Lodge cast-iron griddle plate to go over the Bluestar grill but hasn't tried it yet. Other threads mention folks using the Lodge over two burners only.

The Lodge would fit snugly over Wolf grill, and so I'd prefer to leave it there instead of using it over burners, given it's fairly heavy. But the Wolf grill has only one very hot temperature, so I'm wondering if the griddle would be at the right temperature and also whether there would be too much heat buildup sealed underneath that might warp or damage the adjacent burners.

I just got a DCS dual fuel 36' with a griddle in the middle. Won't be installed for a few weeks we are still in the middle of the kitchen remodel. Can't wait to try it out.

Here is a link that might be useful: My kitchen remodel

peter,
did you make your choice. I'm still doing the back and forth grill vs. griddle. My chef friend says griddle most useful, and can put rack on it to get grill marks? Anyone with the DCS five burner, seems like might get crowded?

I had the 48" DCS in my last house. Overall we weren't impressed with the DCS, it needed service a couple of times in the first couple of years (we lived with it for 4). However, the griddle was great, we loved it. It was great for pancakes, toasted sandwiches and reheating pizza!
We had the grill, but as vegans didn't use it much, maybe for veggie burgers etc. It did work well and seemed to get as hot as needed.

I recently bought the 44" Aga Legacy for my real Victorian remodel. SOOOO unhappy with it that my awesome dealer (Yale Appliance in Boston) offered to take it back (long story). We picked out a 48" Monogram with the griddle today to replace it. We are very lucky that we can move a cabinet and fit the 48" in. I was sold on the Monogram by the chef who works at Yale. He is beyond knowledgable and has no incentive to sell me anything. He pointed out lots of features the Monogram has over the Viking, Wolf etc. I was also shopping ovens, and the size and rolling shelves of the Monogram sealed the deal. GE took the brand back from DCS and really put a lot of thought and engineering into the brand.