There was a good thread on this a few months back. You might do a search for it. I had just the opposite recommendation from Trevor at Eurostoves. He recommended the grill and using a griddle plate on top of it to have the best of both. I thought I would rarely use the grill but would use the griddle more often. I took Trevor's advice. We only do veggies and chicken on the grill but it does a wonderful job. We have been using our new range for about 4 months now and have used the grill at least once a week. We have yet to use a griddle plate on it but when the time comes, I know it will work well. BTW, with good ventilation, smoke should not be a problem. We have never had an issue with smoke.

Hope that helps.

We got the griddle instead of a grill on our 48" Wolf rangetop (after much angst -- we went back and forth right up to the day we placed the order). We had a wonderful dealer near us that offers demos -- you come in and sit at the counter and they cook things on whatever configuration you are considering. They also let you do the cooking if you wish. (I think the grilled emmenthaler and bosc pear pannini with black forest ham might have sealed the deal for us! ;) I think I would probably have used the grill as well, but was concerned about grease with meats (we grill a lot of lamb) and general cleaning/smoke issues despite assurances that it was easy to clean the grill. Plus my outdoor gas grill is just a few steps outside the kitchen door and can be used unless there is deep snow. At some point, we had a "eureka" moment when we realized that we really do tend to make "winter-type" dishes (stews, braised meats, soups) in the colder months and we tend to grill in warmer months ANYWAY, because we feel more like long-simmered coq au vin, etc., in the winter and we feel more like light salads with grilled shrimp tossed on top in the warmer weather.

So we got the griddle with lukewarm enthusiasm, but I have to say: I LOVE it! We do grilled sandwiches, paninis (we bought a press that you just set on top of the sandwich), fried eggs, pancakes, french toast -- all of which we now make more often because it's so easy to fire up the griddle. And what I really love is that you can also use it on a low setting to keep plates warm and/or "hold" prepared food for serving. It's proved to have many more functions than we expected and we're very glad we got it! So I would say try to think through your cooking/menu/eating habits, then decide whether you'd be likely to get enough use out of it to justify giving up the burners.

Lots of previous threads on this very question -

I would agree about grilling indoors -esp since most seem to have adequate nearby grilling outdoors

As far as griddle I opted on our 36" AG viking range to purchase the accessory griddle - it sits over 2 burners -does the same job as built in griddle - easy to clean & offers the ability to use all 6 burners in any config I need at a given time

good luck

I agonized over this decision & ended up getting the Wolf griddle model because I lucked into a great deal on one. Also, grew up using an O'Keefe & Merrit range that had a center griddle so I KNOW I'll get good use out of one. (Perfect for hash browns!) Another idea I had for the griddle--the thermostat goes as low as 100 degrees. So I think that by warming the griddle and then shutting it off, it will be really handy for raising yeast doughs.

But living in Wisconsin, part of me still really, really wants a winter grill. The other part doesn't like the idea of running a 1200 cfm exhaust fan in the winter...

Thanks everyone for your opinions. I decided to let my husband grill outside!!! And so I will go with the griddle. I can't wait to try pancakes on it.

Ginny

I thought I was going to get the Griddle. I asked my husband which he would prefer, he said grill. I was concerned about the smell, as well. But we are spending a lot of money for the hood/ventilation so I guess might as well get our money's worth. The Presige insert should suck the smell out of the house!!!!

I used the 60 inch Prestige high capacity hood liner w/a 2500 CFM remote blower and had a 72"X28" capture area built to mount it in. Not a sliver of smoke escapes and I have yet to have to run it on full high when cooking.