I feel that the 4 burner + grill gives you more flexibility from a cooking stand point. I doubt many people actually use 5 or 6 burner at one time more than 2 or 3 times per year, clearly some will but not many.

I feel more people would use 2 or 3 burners and the grill more often.

You could also look at the Bluestar Platinum range top which affords you the six burners when needed, and an option of an interchangeable grill / griddle which can be utilized in any location. This option would give you the most flexibility for a 36" top.

Considerations that should be considered outside of cooking would be the hood. Your requirements for a hood don't change that much when deciding between a 6 burner or 4 burner with a grill but thought needs to be put into the hood from a size and power perspective.

We find that most don't want the additional clean up and ventilation that a grill requires. With a 6 burner and a good griddle pan you can do 95% of things short of grilling.

If you don't have a grill you can easily use (or use year round, like us northerners) its certainly nice for someone who uses the grill a few times per week. But if that isn't you, save the money and stick with 6 burners

Just make sure you factor in the need for ventilation. We recommend 1000CFM or more and at LEAST a 24" deep pro hood. 27" deep is better.

In 40+ years of cooking, I've never needed more than four burners at a time. Besides, you can always put a skillet or griddle on the grill if and when you need to.

I live where I can BBQ outdoors year round, so I chose a 4 burner with griddle on my 36"RNB Bluestar. I use the griddle daily, and often several times. Also, it doubles as a hot plate where I can slide cooked food out of the way as steve described.

If you live where grilling year round out doors is not possible, I think the indoor grill would be a great option, otherwise I find my built in griddle is much more versatile.

I currently have a 30 inch with 4 burners and a griddle and I despise it. Way too crowded, and I may be alone in not liking cooking on the built in griddle -- I'd rather use a pan I can clean more easily. I just want to make sure I'm not shooting myself in the foot. I want this to be roomy. The design is done, so it has to be a 36 inch rangetop. Just pondering options. Thanks for the input!

36" BS Platinum with 6 burners. The best of all worlds. Such lovely smooth knob action. I can always install the grill if I want. But, I prefer to grill outside. I cook moving my pans to control heat. So, I like the extra room to slide a pan on and off the working the burner.

Can I jump in with a question? I asked this a couple of weeks ago and got no replies :(. I am hoping Trevor can shed some light. With the Bluestar Platinum Rangetop do you find the standard configuration of the burners to be satisfactory when using the griddle/grill? Or should we consider a custom configuration? thanks so much

We don't have our 60" Platinum in the School yet. But I did order it with 2 x 22k btu burners in line so to speak so I can have what I believe will be improved even heat from front to back. If cooking on a open burner is all about even heat to the base of the pan, I want even heat to my interchangeable grill / griddle.

I also ordered my range with an RNB oven and a Platinum oven in one unit so I can see and demonstrate the difference between the two (if any)...

In broadest of generalities, and I live in Toronto and cannot barbecue all year long, but from time to time I still do, even if it is a tad unpleasant, your stovetop grill is not the same as a barbeque, and in broad generalities, you are almost assuredly forbidden to use smoker chips etc, which is - to a certain extent - part of the joy of barbecuing. It's not my money, but I would vote against the grill in the kitchen. Warnings made by others about non- toy extractor fan are well founded. Hey- in winter, make stew and whip out the pressure cooker or the slow cooker, and eat root vegetables, and in summer, chops on the grill outside!

While i agree that an indoor grill is not the same as using charcoal or smoking with wood chips. An indoor grill is exactly the same as a weber gas grill so you can achieve the same flavor indoor as you can with a standard gas unit outdoors. IMO

We've had a 4 burner plus griddle (Viking) and now a 4 burner plus grill (Capital), also a Weber gas grill. I hate to disagree with Trevor, but I find no comparison between the Weber gas outside and the CC grill inside. There is a good 3-5x difference in the heat available, as judged by the time it takes to cook a steak-- 2-3 min on a side on the Weber gas grill, vs 10 min on the CC, with the resulting differences in depth of "well done" surface. I do a lot of Cuban style pork shoulders that go for 4-5 hours on very low heat in the Weber with the lid closed, I'm not sure how I'd replicate that, or if I'd want to on the CC grill.

The grill generates a lot of smoke and smell, which typically involved keeping the hood running on high for 20 minutes after the food comes off the grill while the grill cools. Not pleasant dinner music.

For some things the CC grill works better, particularly where a more gentle even heat is wanted for veggies or fish. We used it quite a bit when we had five feet of snow on the outside grill last winter.

In all I preferred having the steel griddle to the grill. It provided much more uniform heat than any of the stovetop griddles I've used, and I used it much more than I've used the grill. I have only very rarely wanted more than four burners, but I don't really think there is enough real estate on a 36" range to make six particularly useful. Having four burners plus the griddle for warming worked well.

rwiegand... no problem disagreeing with me I am sure the OP is looking for as many opinions from users as possible.

My point on the Weber vs indoor range grill was a general principle. A gas tube, some form of heat diffuser and cast iron grates. It does cook slower for sure but its a heck of a lot warmer in the dead of winter in MA ......lol

No one is saying that a grill on a range/range top replaces all outdoor grill functions - that would be downright foolish. Personally - I have little use for a griddle and would find an indoor grill off-season, for my purposes, more useful. I have a nice big all-clad electric griddle - maybe use it three times a year, maybe. It comes down to preference and what you most often cook.

As for the placement of the 22k burners - I have a 36" range top with a 22k in the front left and right rear. Because of the 6" backguard, a standard 12" frypan will not center on the rear 22k (or any rear) burner. It also won't fit my woks. My 11.5 qt stock pot fits perfectly on the rear burners though. So just keep this in mind when choosing your burner config and perhaps bring your fav pans to the showroom. I think the short island trim might allow the 12" pan enough clearance, but I have glass tile - so that would be problematic.

Well, I guess you are stuck making compromises (I am on the verge of buying a Fisher and Paykel dual fuel range, subject of other post) and so, although there is real competition and many products, you will never really get what you want, but there may be some solutions:

1. Your (a) already paid -for grill is (b) vastly superior to what you would be getting in an indoor grill so the indoor grill should not be so hard to forgo.

2, You can have it all, if you to to a cartridge system such as on offer from Jenn Air; You can swap out the grill for burners etc. as you see fit;

3, but then you may necessarily be into an additional (potentially idiotic) downdraught system;

4, you can do something entirely different, and 'suffer' with a perfectly good if not an exceptional griddle/ sear type plate affixed to your burners as a "plan B" when you do not want to/ cannot go outside to grill or use your broiler.

You know yourself. Do you grill dinner 3 times a week? Or more? Or only in the summer?

Note that the indoor grill attachment may be 'high maintenance' and requite a lot of cleaning etc. Serious, expensive, effective extractor fan becomes a must have.

Conclusion: you may need to think about a cartridge system, requiring you to make new and different sacrifices (down draft ventilation) .

So, you cannot have it all.

So if I find a 30 inch 5 burner (4 plus griddle) too crowded, will I be happier with a 36 inch 5 burner or a 36 inch 6 burner? The cabinets have been ordered so it needs to be a 36 inch professional style. I know Bertazzoni makes the pro style 5 burner.

What you can do, again in the land of infinite compromises, (kitchen appliances) is make sure your 'burner in the middle' if you go for 5, is round and not the elongated oval thing that seems most common - reason why I suggest this?- because you can then put a small pot on that burner/ it is more practical. Why not stick with the original 6 burner Kitchen Aid without the indoor barbecue contraption option and get the griddle for it? Make sure you can remove the griddle, almost assuredly the case, and you will be set.

thanks, AreBe. I just got paranoid that 30/5=6 and 36/6=6 so maybe I wasn't gaining much, even though I know the configuration is different. Did I mention I'm 8 months into a whole house renovation and slightly batty from decision making? ;-)

(We won't discuss the complete freakout I had over the refrigerator yesterday...)

Well, arbitrary decisions have to be made. There is real competition at all price points, however, in order to survive in the marketplace all products need to be reasonably well made. You have infinite options- Stainless steel (hard to clean) or porcelain enamel (chips)? And the different suppliers differentiate by dong their 'thing': Wolf, red knobs and stacked burners, Thermadore - star shaped burners; Kitchen Aid, not a Ferrari but nothing to sneeze at and well made. Bosch, Etlectrolux, GE, Jenn Air, they are all fine. Natural gas cook tops are based on 100 year old technology. (not entirely true but kind of true.) You will be fine. Do not buy garbage. Get something that will not be out of style tomorrow. Not a sin to save money and buying a brand new scratch and dent etc.

I can get a serious discount on KA, hence my leaning that way...I need some way to limit the options, so that seemed like a natural. Not planning on KA wall ovens, though. Too many complaints about noise and temperature disparities. And I have a KA range now and I'm not thrilled with the way it bakes.

I have a Kitchenaid Architect II French door 36" refrigerator/freezer that I like very much. I bought the Bluestar 36" range top, salvaged my old Thermador double ovens and got the KA refrigerator. I'm very happy with my decisions. I would spend my extra money on the best range top I could afford, and step it down from there.

Presumably you use the range every day, sometimes many times a day. Good advice putting the cash into your stove top. Note the stovetop, if in a n island, may might be the focal point of the kitchen. KA is a fine product nevertheless. Get a good range hood that does both things well: 1 extractor fan and 2 often forgotten amazing lighting

I'm getting this: http://www.kitchenaid.com/shop/-[UXB1200DYS]-402472/UXB1200DYS/ and the liner.

How much weight do people give Consumer Reports? Their top rated oven is one with a ton of complaints about noise.