If you want a true pro range, open burners, immense power, your only two choices are the Capital Culinarian, and the Bluestar. The manual clean Capital can be had for around 4500, you have to call for pricing on the Bluestar.

Just out of curiosity, why did you decide against NXR? (Full disclosure: our 36-inch NXR 6-burner was installed last week).

In 30" the BlueStar RNB should be closer to 4k in the US -- less for the RCS model. I'm not sure about current Capital prices -- wouldn't expect them to be all that far off. Both BlueStar lines (RNB and the less expesive RCS) offer open burners, as does the Capital Culinarian line.

Is it worth it? It was worth it to me, easily -- very happy with a 36" BlueStar RNB. It's real money, but relative to other costs in a kitchen upgrade or remodel it's not that much. Moreover, it's an expense that purchases some genuinely different cooking capacity. Great burners, a very good (and large capacity) oven, and a terrific broiler. For me, it's the key element in the kitchen. But then, anybody who ordered one decided at some point that it was worth it. Whether it's worth it to you is another question. We all have our own priorities and budget constraints.

Well since you already decided against the best of the bunch "for the price" then next best is probably a Bluestar because it is probably the only one you will get for under $3500.

We have had our 30" NXR for 6 months now without a single issue, works perfectly and cost $1799 delivered, you will not find a better deal in the "Less expensive pro-style range" category, nothing else even comes close "for that price".

30" manual clean Capital should be under $4k.

It would probably help if you can comment on what features attract you to this style of range (besides the look) - i.e., what's most important to you? Power? Even heating? Convection oven?

30" manual clean Capital should be under $4k.

Maybe it should but the UMRP is $4.3k.

BS RNB 30" is $4k and 24" is $3.6K. No free color upgrade anymore.

I think the marginal cost over the $2.5k=3.5k ranges is completely justified.

NXR - Douro Corporation and made in china..enough said

Bluestar, Looks good and love the burners, problems with these ranges are that they have very little insulation and they tend expell a great deal of heat through the top of the door and the access panel under the oven.

RCS model is made of a lesser grade stainless steel than the RNB and this one gets even hotter than the RNB

Wolf: $3999 and probably best bang for Buck

: Bertazzoni, Verona, are not in the same league as the Wolf, BS, and Capital.

Capital has a small oven capacity but is made better than all the other ranges on the market. The Culinarian at $4300 is a bit overpriced but only because all the other manufacturers have decided to drop their prices.

Again the NXR is not "made in china" as if that makes that much difference now a days.
Besides I have seen FAR more complaints on the "made in the USA" ranges anyway.

Things change over the years and it is getting to the point to where "Made in the USA" is actually worse than 'Made in China" anymore.
But fact is that basically everything of consequence on the NXR is made every where but China.
It is basically "assembled mostly in China".

Anyone that discounts the NXR based solely on it being assembled in China is a fool and is missing out on a nice stove for a good price.

I don't know about the 'lesser grade' stainless on the RCS, but I do know my RCS gets plenty warm on the outside. Only real complaint so far with it.

In Canada you can pick up the 30" RCS for $2100 at Costco.

Oh, and magnets don't stick to my RCS, so while it may be 'lower grade' than the RNB, I can't fathom what difference it would make other than helping RNB buyers justify spending 2x as much ;)

Things change over the years and it is getting to the point to where "Made in the USA" is actually worse than 'Made in China" anymore.

Anyone who thinks this is a fool. And is missing out on much better ranges.

It may be true some day but not today.

"Anyone who thinks this is a fool. And is missing out on much better ranges.

It may be true some day but not today."
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Yet I actually see MORE complaints on the Made in USA stoves than I do the NXRs.
And quality has continually gone down over the years on anything made in the USA.
About the only country I can not say that about is Germany, they still seem to have pride in workmanship largely because they are still a manufacturing country where as we are now a "service orientated" country.

I have also never said that most of these other stoves like the Blue Stars etc are bad stoves, but "for the price" none of them compare to the NXR not even close unless you buy the Blue Star at Costco in Canada and compare it to the most expensive place you can buy an NXR from.
But in general the cheaper BS ranges are at least $500+ more than the NXR.

So I am not "missing out on much better ranges" nor do I think that the NXRs are any better, in fact I am sure in some respects a BS, Capital, etc are probably slightly better I just simply can not afford them.
and I do not think that any of these ranges are worth in most cases TWICE as much as the NXR. At least not to me they aren't.

It is kinda like steaks, is a Kobe A5 grade RibEye really worth $300+ a lb? Hell no
I picked up some really nice Prime grade rib eye at Costco this week for about $9.00 a lb that was so incredibly well marbled that I could not pass it up.
I seared it on the NXR broiler then quickly wrapped it in foil for about 5-7 minutes to rest and finish cooking to a perfect medium rare and the steaks were so tender that a knife was unnecessary.

The NXR is like that incredibly well marbled Prime beef at Costco, might not be quite as good as the Kobe/Wagyu but cooked properly is actually a MUCH better deal than the Kobe ever will be and is more than good enough for most.

We just dumped a Viking for the Capital. Yeah the open burners are that much better.

@Nunyabiz1: as a fellow NXR owner I certainly cannot be accused of bias against it, but I gotta say, your tireless promotion of NXR is a little offputting. Perhaps that is your style of communication, but at this point I think you may actually be turning people away from the brand.

"@Nunyabiz1: as a fellow NXR owner I certainly cannot be accused of bias against it, but I gotta say, your tireless promotion of NXR is a little offputting. Perhaps that is your style of communication, but at this point I think you may actually be turning people away from the brand."
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Don't particularly care what you think, simply stating my opinion is all.
I am "promoting" NXR only when it is warranted, when someone ask for an opinion about a "Less-espensive pro-style range" then ask for an opinion I give it.

Now being an NXR owner yourself please name ONE range that fits that description better than the NXR?
and why did you buy yours?

I am simply stating what I know is fact no more no less and it was people doing the same as I on this website is why I bought an NXR because I had never even heard of the brand before coming to this website.
I am glad they did because the NXR is one hell of a lot better than anything else I could have bought for $1800.

I have a Bertazzoni 36 inch. I love the big center burner since it is great for bringing big pots to a boil (I love pasta), it's very easy to clean with the removable grilles and one piece stainless top, and it is unusual in the market. Every time I bring someone new into the kitchen they immediately ask about the range. Usually they assume it is a big pricey cooking machine. I've cooked on friends vikings/wolfs/bluestars. Out of those 3 brands the bluestar cooked the best, but it was too "professional" looking. The viking is beautiful but expensive. I think the Berta was the right match for me and I've never been happier! I attached a picture of it here so you can see it installed.

"Posted by jgopp (My Page) on Fri, Sep 2, 11 at 14:32
I have a Bertazzoni 36 inch. "
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Absolutely gorgeous kitchen and stove.

You have what looks like the exact granite my wife and I were looking to install in our kitchen and we were going to use the same subway tile for the back splash also, ether that or just use the granite for BS.
That Berta looks perfect sitting there.

I was looking at the Capital Culinarian 30" but - MANUAL clean! I have always had self clean and love it, but in the Capital it adds too much $$$.

You never see a restaurant range that is self clean. Any prosumer range that offers it is taking a chance that the additional high temperatures and electric doo dads will remain in service. And that's one of the reasons for the extra charge. There's a lot more potential for product failure with self cleaning. More insulation is needed. More complex circuitry, etc.

The whole idea of a prosumer range is so that a home cook can safely replicate most of the restaurant quality results at home. It isn't about the extra doo dads and special programs that a plain consumer range has. Restaurants have grunt labor to clean their ranges. Homes do too. They're called children or spouses. Occasionally they're called housekeepers.

Really, manual clean isn't that difficult. A change of foil for the drip tray and a couple of swipes with soapy ammonia isn't going to kill anyone. If you're baking things that spill over, then you should be using a cookie sheet to put them on. A normally used oven doesn't really get so filthy that it's difficult to clean. Especially if it's wiped out after every use. Note that I did not say "cleaned" after every use.

Don't forget about American Range with their residential open burner range 25,000 BTU. The ovens fits a commercial size bake sheet! Tons of options: dual fuel (has self clean), sealed burner, colors, grill, griddle, broiler types. American made and a long history of being a choice brand for restaurants.

FiveStar Range has 21,000 BTU on their open burner ranges. Also American made and a long history in the field as a good work horse. Simple parts, not hard to get repaired and last for decades before a repair is ever needed.

Capital is a great work horse. The precision line is solid and the new 23,000 BTU open burner Culinarian is a head turner. The oven is smaller than most would like but that is due to all the insulation, solid build and added safety features. No kids burning themselves on Capital's oven doors!!! Also American made and easy to get great service anywhere in the USA. ($500 precision series rebate ends on sept. 30, 2011)

With these brands you get what you pay for.

Gas ranges with self clean functions just introduce problems. Maybe not now but it will happen sooner or later. Go dual fuel if you can if it's that important to you.

The Italian ranges in 30" Bertazzoni, Ilve Majestic and Verona are all good but deliver a lower BTU than the ranges I mentioned earlier. Purchase any of them and you still buy a solid range.

I was quoted a price of $3,900.00 for a BlueStar RNB 30-inch range. That's only $400 over your budget OP. If you can afford $3,500.00 surely you could somehow squeeze that little more by cutting something somewhere in your life. I don't think you'd regret it.

"Restaurants have grunt labor to clean their ranges. Homes do too. They're called children or spouses. Occasionally they're called housekeepers. Really, manual clean isn't that difficult. A change of foil for the drip tray and a couple of swipes with soapy ammonia isn't going to kill anyone."

Agree with you about the grunt labour, but please don't put foil on the floor of a new oven, especially if it has concealed elements or burners. The IBs specifically warn against it. Although it was common practice with previous generations of ovens, there have been several anguished threads on GW of late about how folks have had the foil fuse to their ovens, causing irreverible damage to their "pro-style" ranges.

ash2011, some of the online stores incorrectly state the open burner Fivestar to be 21,000 BTU. On Fivestar's website you will find that the sealed burners are 21,000 BTU, but the open burners are only 14,000 (12,000 on LP).
oasisowner, our last range was self clean and we never used the feature. Our new CC is manual clean. We did have one bad spill over that made a mess, but after the oven cooled I lifted out the bottom panel and scraped most of it off with a nylon scraper (not scrubbie) and then washed with soap and water. Should have used the cookie sheet.

Caddidaddy55, you are right about the FiveStar range open burner BTUs. They are going to up the BTUs and introduce a new product but that is for the near future or so they tell me.

On Cleaning
Most pro style ranges aren't that hard to remove the bottom panel for cleaning.

Another option
Viking has a rebate on their 30" classic open burner range that brings the cost down. It's even lower if you buy from a dealer in the Midwest. That distributor brings the cost even lower and in your price range. Www.lvdistributes.com

Defending an American company that is trying
Before the Viking haters start, let me say that Viking has changed a great number of things in their range. The gas oven burner tube is now the u shaped style that you find in the French ranges. No more flat style ceramic ignitors, now they use a striker like what's on the top to ignite the gas. This means no more uneven heating in the oven, the u shape provides greater coverage and going without the two ignitors makes the range reliable for years to come.

Thank you for all the thoughtful responses, especially in that I didn't respond! I thought I had checked to be notified of responses, and when I didn't get any notifications, thought my posting was of no interest. Came back by accident and will study it all.

Here are a few answers to questions. For 20 years, I have had a 22" Wolf range, real restaurant range that came with my loft. The burners are wonderfully hot, and I love how it looks -- lovely orange wolf on the front. But the whole thing is too hot and can't be properly vented and of course has no broiler. I've had periods of being an active involved cook and periods (like now) when I saute a little and mainly microwave. I hope to get back to cooking -- who knows when?

Pro or style? I'm some of both. I love the pro aesthetic and the feel of having a pro-ish, say BS, range. But it truly may be more range than I need or should spend -- hence thinking pro-ish. And perhaps heresy, I would love a colored range, which reduces options and does nothing for the actual cooking.

After I've studied your postings above, I'll post again -- and be grateful if you have responses knowing where I'm coming from.

If you want anything other than stainless steel then probably Blue Star is the way to go because you can get pretty much any color you want, but unless you find it used on Craigslist or something you are not going to get it anywhere near $3500

You might be able to get a Red Bertazzoni for around $3500+ possibly as long as you don't mind cooking in an Easy Bake Oven. (Tiny Oven).

Also: Capital 10 colors; AGA legacy 7 colors; AGA 6-4 series 11 colors; Bertazzoni 3 colors; Ilive 6 colors, also most of the french ranges come in colors.

You should be able to get the 30 inch bert for around 2900 I believe. Speaking to the oven size...yes it is quite small but I haven't had a problem of something being too big to fit. Plus if I'm baking I'm not using the gas anyway, I use the electric wall oven for that. The red berts look really sharp.

Thanks for the listing of rangesin color!

Hmm, you might consider the 30" Verona.

Check out the bottom of:

http://eurochefusa.wordpress.com/

They have a special on the 30" for $1,799 through the end of September.

I've been getting quotes on a 36 inch capital precision all gas 6 burner for roughly 3300 after a 500 rebate.

From Toroto Tim: "Oh, and magnets don't stick to my RCS, so while it may be 'lower grade' than the RNB..."

Magents do not stick to higher grade SS (the BlueStar is probably 304 or 301 ss).

Lower grade stainless means less nickel--when there's less nickel there's other filler elements which are magnetic.

cassity is correct the magnetic (martinsitc and ferritic) stainless steels 400 series contain little to no nickel. That's why cheap stainless gas grilles rust. The higher grade (austenitic) can be form 6 to 36 percent nickel.

Checking into this thread a bit late, but I did want to say that the Viking Pro Custom gas range also comes in colors. The current promotions are apparently dealer-wide and are a good deal; e.g., I was just quoted $2999 on the 30-inch open burner gas range in stainless steel at a local dealer in MA. These promos run through Dec. 31, 2011. (Color would add $500 to that net price).

Here's one I never see mentioned on this site: Dacor. I have 30", gas, sealed burners. I like it (so far...it's only been about 3 months.) I like how it looks. It's easy to clean, burners work very well, have used oven once--it's bigger inside than the Berta 30" I think. Cost around $3600.

Wow... I love reading these posts. Whoever thought this many adults could be so passionate about a stove?

For those of you in the know, the depth and breadth of your information is a real eye-opener for us novices, still in learning mode.

Some brands I previously ruled out (due to lack of reliable first hand experience that I could find/read online) may now need to come back into the running!

I wish someone had a crystal ball to share, so I could look in and see exactly what the best alternative for me is. I have reviewed more info on every brand mentioned in the dialog above than I can remember. And, sorry to say, I don't think I'm any closer to a decision, lol

Trying to prioritize functionality, aesthetics and price is just about to drive me over a cliff, lol My indecision rests in the fear of spending what to me is a large sum, only to have the range fizzle out in 2-3 years.

I'm sure though, that the more knowledge you all impart, the more confidence I'll have when it comes time to finally pull the trigger. ;-)