Bluestar hands down!
Five year owner here and happy as a clam. The performance of the open burners can't be matched, if you truly cook, it's the only way to go...
I would however consider the griddle over the grill, unless you live where grilling is not suited to outdoors year round. The griddle has been my favorite and go to cooking source since I got my Bluestar! And if I had room for a 48" I would do a 24" griddle and four burners. I've never had the need for more than four burners at once in over forty years of cooking...

I just wrote an answer to a similar question someone asked recently about gas ranges. The part about burners applies to you.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5497893/wolf-viking-thermador-ge-monogram-gas-oven-which-is-the-best#n=8

I would never again have an indoor grill and IMO a 48” range or cooktop involves huge expense for venting not to mention the noise level Get a 36” and use a BBQ for grilling and I have a griddle that spans 2 burners that I use when I need a griddle, it cost $ 30. The type of cooktop you choose will tell you if you van have the drawers underneath

We have had a Jenn Air for years with a grill and had a number of complaints about it. The grill is hard to clean, the burners have had all kinds of challenges including not getting hot enough. I think it is about 10 years old. We cook for large groups of people at times and love the 6 burner options and the grill option is important. Our weather is not user friendly for parts of the year to use only an outside grill. We are aware that we will need BIG venting. Our jenn air has a downdraft and that has been awful. We have no experience with any other brands of gas range tops - but heard the Miele has lag time in ignition which is annoying. We also read somewhere that the Wolf grill does not have a control to regulate temp. Today we are going to Kieffers in Lansdale to try to finalize our decision. We are down to the wire, because Monday we are finalizing our cabinet decisions and signing our contract. We have spent months and months thinking about this and still find that the last minute decisions are a bit nuts!!! Any advice is welcomed!!!

You will need heavy duty drawer glides to carry the weight of the drawer itself plus the contents. Our 48" wide drawers are two different heights to accommodate our cookware. We use an expandable IKEA pot and pan divider in the bottom drawer so saute pans can stand on side without nesting. There is a pullout on each side - one is the Rev a Shelf for knives and utensils and the other has a top drawer for pot holders and beneath is a pullout for baking sheets, tin foil and cooling racks. Range top is a Capital Culinarian with grill. We love the burners. Can't comment on the grill as it hasn't been used yet. We have been installed since April so have been able to use the outside grill.

Wow! Beautiful!!!! I have not researched Capital and will look it up.

Bluestar. No grill. Capital is a close second. Yes, you can have drawers underneath. My personal preference is the 36" Bluestar range top with two drawers below. Separate stack of wall ovens. I'd skip the grill and the griddle. Too hard to keep clean. I've got a 48" Viking all gas. The house came with it. The griddle is not needed. Do your grilling outside. Less grease in the house. Make sure your ventilation hood is 3" wider on each side of the range top. It will function much better with the overlap.

Vevmom, nice set up.

Yikes, if we need 6 more inches of hood than the 48 inches planned, it puts us back into the dilemma we had with the 36 inch induction with a grille module that needed some space between each unit. Thankfully, we are going to the appliance store today to sort this all out.

Indoor grill does not produce results worth sacrificing the space. It’s just a sales gimmick.

Well we have a Jenn air right now with a grill and love the grill option, but do not like the Jenn Air. It is a down draft and is awful. However, the grill itself works pretty well.

I just want to mention this if you need a griddle and will not choose a range top that comes with it.

https://www.bbqguys.com/lodge/18-inch-seasoned-carbon-steel-griddle-crsgr18?product_id=2887572&merchant_id=3173333&creative=294733643998&target=&placement=&device=c&campaign=1558518129&adgroup=59169155476&source=google&medium=cpc&type=shopping-ad&gclid=Cj0KCQjwuuHdBRCvARIsAELQRQG9NHNxScPcmvMntbDiFFV-WD5FAnyiBUv_Na4B3OS7xinqk0OvHeEaAh3hEALw_wcB&s_kwcid=AL!5468!3!294733643998!!!g!330219967119!&ef_id=W6qUegAAADkZ8Se-:20181006135254:s

It's heavy and great quality, and heats up quickly (carbon steel like my wok). Nice size to make 8 slices of french toast at the same time, lots of pancakes etc. Goes over 2 burners.

That's why I suggest a 36". You get six burners. Very few cooks need eight burners. Those are needed in a restaurant application, but not really needed in a residential setting. With the 36" you are able to slide pots and pans across all the burners.

As far as grills and griddles, you pull out a griddle pan when needed. My current griddle is merely an additional surface for warming. I hate cleaning it. I'd rather wash the pan in the sink. If I want to grill, I go outside. The same degree of cleaning is not required outside.

Function is the first component of satisfaction. You will need that extra overlap of ventilation for it to work properly. I tried to get away with the same aperture on my last range top with limited success. I already owned the ventilation and didn't want to replace it. If I was planning I'd plan for the extra size. If the salesman doesn't understand this issue, you need to find a different salesman.

The ventilation and required makeup air for gas with a grill will be far more expensive than the range top itself. Factor in the cost of the rangetop by 2.5 as a start. Plus you are giving up the easy to clean bit of induction. Grilling should be done outside. Period.

If you think that you can accommodate the 48" go for it. We find it to be so much more flexible that the 36" we had before. With 48" both of us can comfortably use the range top simultaneously, and that happens fairly often. Even if we are just baking, the extra foot gives us great space to set baking sheets coming from the ovens, so no worries about accidentally damaging the countertop. Also love the additional pot and pan storage underneath. We use every inch of it. I found an IKEA stainless trivet which sits on top of the grill's stainless cover. It is a perfect spot for the spoon rest and gives us even more space to let things cool without scratching the stainless lid.

Grill outside. Create a covered grill porch if grilling is highly important to you. It will still be less expensive than doing 48” indoor gas grilling over choosing a 36” induction. And you will get much better grilled food as a result. Plus you get more counter space and storage in your kitchen. A 48” range proportionately needs a large kitchen to go with its bulk.

We grill outside all year in temps down to -10F (-20C). It only takes a few seconds to duck out and attend the grill. Keep in mind that propane only works (boils to make a gas) down to -45F, but we never get that cold here.

We had a 48" Viking pro gas cooktop with a griddle. It was very nice. There were two drawers beneath for pans. We had the matching Viking pro hood that was so strong it sucked paper towels off the counter. The counter was bumped out slightly to accomodate it.

I have a 36" GE Monogram rangetop with six sealed burners. No grill or griddle. There are 2 drawers below for all my pots, pans, and lids. Works fine for me, but I am nowhere near a gourmet cook. I cook maybe 4-5 times a week, sometimes using the range top only and sometimes the oven, sometimes both. I've heard that open burners are better at getting to very high temperatures, but the ease of cleaning the sealed burners was more important to me.

One item that I wish GE had is a smaller diameter burner for small pots. All the burners are the same size and 18,000 BTU output, and all have an ultra-low simmer feature.

Those that are saying a built in griddle is hard to clean, I'm guessing they have never properly properly seasoned them? Once seasoned, a cold rolled steel griddle is much like well seasoned vintage cast iron. It becomes very non-stick, and a quick scrape and wipe with a paper towel does the trick, and it's ready for the next meal! You can pretty much cook anything on a griddle that you could on a grill, plus lots more that you can't cook on a grill.

Cook's Kitchen, Everybody's storage needs are different, so whether you're using a 36" or a 48" cooktop/range top, the space is still being used, it is just being allocated differently. The extra 12" in my range top drawers are far more functional for me than an extra 12" wide drawer base or pullout would have been. Among other things, I can now store my 18 quart stockpot in the bottom drawer and not have to run down the basement every time that I need it.

Totally agree with cookncarpenter on the seasoning and cleaning. Our old (1993) closed burner Thermador had a removable griddle which we used a ton when our kids were home. I liked being able to take it to the sink. Decided on the grill this time thinking that we could use a griddle over it and use the grill for veggies in the winter. We will see what happens. Messy grilling will still be done outside on the Kamado Joe.

I guess it depends on how you like to clean. To me, having to pull out a tray underneath is more of a pain than just cleaning around the burners. Don't you still need to clean the splatters on top of the range as well as the pullout tray below?

Trays are lined with foil. Have yet to change it. Our old Thermador had a stainless top so really had to stay on top of it, not to mention the occasional spillover that would migrate under the burner base. I had various methods for dealing with that. The Capital cast iron grates are far more forgiving.

Hi Everyone! Update, we have decided on the Bluestar 48 in gas range top with the grill at the center. This is thrilling for my husband who was trained to cook in a French kitchen many years ago. We have adjusted the hood requirements to meet the needs of the venting and we are very happy. Once we made the decision to switch from induction, we found the Bluestar to be the right solution for us. We are thrilled. We are fine with the extra clean up - we are used to it from our present gas stove and grill top. But this should be the BTU's we have longed for and the correct venting system, instead of the useless Jenn Air downdraft we have now. To all you induction lovers. We understand your love. We have an induction stove in our cabin and while we love it, the joy of cooking with gas was too much to give up for this kitchen. Thank you all for your generous input into this decision!!!

Thank you very much for the "conclusion". And congratulations! I'm sure you'll love your kitchen when the upgrade is done.

Congrats! I know you made the right choice for your needs...enjoy that BlueStar!

Enjoy your new range!

Remember that venting includes required Make Up Air. Most contractors seem surprised about that, and homeowners forget to budget for it too.

We have adjusted the hood requirements to meet the needs of the venting and we are very happy

Have you included increasing the exhaust duct size in your "adjustment"? Make sure your duct size is 8" diameter minimum, but likely for the hood you will need, 10" diameter. Don't skip this, or shrug that this forum is exaggerating its importance and it doesn't really matter. It really does matter.

DON'T DO A GRILL. and dont do a dedicated griddle. you will hate them.

if you want grilled food, get a gas grill for the outdoors.

DON'T GET a griddle, ask yourself this: where does the bacon grease go? even dedicated grease "drains" dont work well. and do you like cleaning that drain EVERY time you use the griddle? it'll clog and smell.

Get a huge cast iron fry pan. the sides keep the grease in and it will be so much more usefull for cooking tons of other thing vs griddle. as stated above a griddle that spans two burners can work well too.

you can always use more burners, but how useful is a griddle when you need another burger.

fyi genn air sucks. their day in the sun is over and they suffer from corporate takeover disease.

We have discussed the make up air with contractor, the 10 inch duct and we are adding another propane tank with a new sized connection to the stove. We have also addressed the added needed power to the hood and made sure it reaches 19 to 22 inches from the back to front of range top. If you think we are forgetting something, please feel free to advise. We want this kitchen to work well with our choice of range top. Thank you all for your great advice. We welcome it!!

"and made sure it reaches 19 to 22 inches from the back to front of range top."

Not sufficent for a Bluestar. Your hood should be at least 24" deep, and 27" would be better...

While I absolutely agree that full overlap for the hood is preferable, things are not quite as dire as they are regularly made out here. For many years, our kitchen had a traditional residential hood which, while reasonably powerful, clearly didn't provide full overlap in the front.

It mostly worked. It absolutely took care of handling all the heat from the Bluestar. And it did a pretty OK job with cooking smells. Would I recommend it for a remodel? No, probably not. And that's why we are getting a full-overlap hood with our newly remodeled kitchen.

But there are downsides to doing that, too. You have to mount the hood much higher, because it is otherwise constantly right in-front of your eyes. So, keep that in mind when designing that part of your kitchen. I do understand why people opt for shorter hoods even at the cost of not being able to eliminate all cooking smells.

I don't think the Bluestar is that dramatically different in this way. If you wanted to operate a Bluestar range with a smaller and lower-powered hood. You could most likely do that. You might not enjoy the heat build-up when running all the burners at full power, but then how often do you do that? So, don't panic. But do try to be aware of trade-offs when you are making them.

Just to add that the Bluestar is a powerful pro-style range that requires a heat shield in most circumstances. Many people overlook this.

The installation instructions for the Bluestar ranges are actually pretty reasonable and not all that different from a lot of other ranges. Yes, there are some clearance requirements to the sides and to the back. But they are all quite typical and many houses would already follow these.

Things do get more challenging, if you want to get rid of the raised vent in the back of the stove and replace it with a (almost) flush island trim piece. In that case, you need to probably make a couple of architectural changes. But if that's what you are planning, you presumably did research the implications already.

I suggest to go deeper on the hood also. We pulled our range top cabinet 3" from the wall so went with a 54" x 27" Wolf pro hood with warming lights. DH is 6'5" so hood is mounted 39" from the counter but even fish smells vanish without any problem, and the lighting completely covers the burners. This height is comfortable for both of us. A stainless shelf with bars (not solid) is mounted 24" from the counter. We left a foot between the hood and adjacent wall cabinets to protect the cabinet sides from heat. They are 15" deep (highly recommend for platters and serving pieces) but have yet to see any grime on the glass. Covering the burners is key. Ducting is 10"

We met with the kitchen designer today and went over hood specifications making it full depth and starting at 36 inches. We will adjust the power of the hood to what we need at that height. Hopefully that will be enough. We are also going with the 10" duct. Thank you for all the great advice.

At 36" high, and with a 72" needed width, a 10" duct will be on the small side to carry as much air volume as you need. You might consider doing two ducts and two blowers under a single shroud. VAH and other companies that offer customization can do that for you.

What is your general location in the country? Because. I agree with the others that a grill will add a lot of expense vs just grilling outside. Especially if you need to do heated make up air to compensate for 1800 CFM of your hard earned money leaving the house.

We have had two kitchens that used a 48" Bluestar rangetop. Both had the 24" grill and we love it and can't imagine going back outside on cold, wet, or very hot days to grill. It works fantastic. From experience, as some have said, you need a hood that is larger than the range/rangetop. Our first setup was a 48" hood and smoke escaped on the sides and front - 36" high and 24" deep. Not good. Our 2nd setup works perfect for ANY type of cooking - wok, grilling, etc. We have a 60" wide hood, custom 29" deep (I think a 27" would be fine but smaller than that will allow front burner wok cooking smoke to escape).

For makeup air, we have a manually operated electric Broan damper connected with a single 10" duct. The vent for this is in the ceiling near the wok burner (front right) and works perfect. We have a wall switch to turn it on/off.

Our hood is connected with an exhaust blower via a single 10" duct also. The first setup had a Broan 1200cfm roof mounted blower and our second setup has a Wolf 1500cfm room mounted blower. (The exhaust mounted roof blower by Broan and Wolf are actually the same - just labeled different if it hasn't changed in the last few years.)

Our Bluestar rangetop has the built-in grill and not the ones with the removable/convertible devices as their platinum series. If we ever move or do another kitchen, it will be the exact same as our second kitchen setup - grill and burners work perfect and a smoke detector nearby has NEVER gone off. Set it up right and you'll love it. For griddle use - we just put a griddle pan over two of the burners and it works fine - sometimes we also put it over the grill.

Also since our 24" grill has a stainless cover that came with it, our kitchen cabinets were modified to add a small shelf under the rangetop cabinet to store the cover when using the grill and the cover is not needed.

Good luck!!!