We live in a high-rise condo in New York City, and we cannot have an electric oven in our apartment (building won't approve it), so we have to have a gas range. We want a nice convection oven that heats quickly, cooks evenly, doesn't pump a huge amount of heat out into the kitchen, that will last, and that isn't too complicated to use or too super high end in terms of price.

I'm looking for general gas range advice and also any experiences with particular ranges.

I've been considering the Bertazzoni ranges. Most recently the Master series, since I cook a lot with two shelves in the oven at once, and the other Bertazzonis just seem to short in the inside oven dimensions. (Also the gauge saying when the oven is to temperature would be nice to have.)

Does anyone out there have a Bertazzoni master series range, and if so, can you tell us about your experience? (And how does that oven gauge work - why the medium and hot part of the range? I understand that while it is preheating it would be in the preheat range, but what does medium or hot mean? The instruction manual doesn't explain...)

A few of my specific concerns:

1) How long does it take the oven to get to temperature?

2) If you put an oven thermometer into the oven, can you actually read it through the oven door with the door closed to see what temp the oven is actually running?

3) How hard is it to keep the stainless steel from looking terribly streaky all the time? We will only use organic cleaners and won't do a ton of clean up, but I'd hate for it to look filthy all the time...

4) How hot does the area in front of the back vent get? In our current super cheap range, you will burn yourself if you touch anything on the top of the stove when the oven is on, and plastic will melt. (I hate that all gas stoves vent heat right on to the top of the stovetop!)

5) The minimum temp seems to be 270 degrees. I have lived with electric convection ovens in Europe, and I really liked being able to proof bread or do "forgotten" cookies in the oven at a really low temp. Are there any gas ranges out there that will let you do lower temps? Is this temp restriction just an issue with the Bertazzoni, or will it be a problem with all gas ranges?

6) For those of you who have gone with the Bertazzoni or other gas ranges which mimic more the commercial design with no electronics, have you ever regretted it? I've heard that the electronics tend to die pretty frequently on the other ranges because they can't stand up to the constant heat exposure. But otherwise, maybe some of the gas ranges with the electronic panel cook just as well as the Bertazzoni and its competitors, and maybe I'd regret no longer getting an oven that say beeps when it comes to temperature?

I would love feedback from anyone who has owned a Bertazzoni (particularly the master series) or who has any great experience with gas ranges! Thanks in advance for your advice. :)