I don't have a specific stove to recommend but we just got a new one and I HIGHLY recommend getting one with a long/large center burner. Ours came with a removable griddle top to put over the burner instead of the grate, but it is also really nice if you want to saute something you're eventually going to put in a roasting pan (just saute it in the pan), etc. I also like having one of the burners be a high-output burner, great for boiling water a little more quickly and getting an iron skillet REALLY HOT.

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We have been extremely unhappy with our Viking. During the three years we have owned it we've had numerous service calls, the oven temperature is still unreliable. And the worst part has been Viking's lack of concern over the low quality of their product. I'm sorry I didn't buy a Wolf!

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I have had a 36" all-gas DCS range and matching hood for 3 years now. I love the cook-top (except for the ignitors which have already been replaced once) because every burner has 17k BTU output as well as a simmer ring-flame. We have had to pay attention to what we buy for cookware because the heat spreaders are so big that a small pot or pan fits inside the flame. The oven is great once you get it warmed up but we'd be better off with a wall-oven stack. I would probably recommend going with a 30" Thermador "Pro Grand", either dual fuel or all gas. They have the star-shaped burners so you don't have to be worried about pan size. I think the burners are 15k BTU (couldn't verify this) and 2 have "extra-low". The oven has all of the niceties you would expect on such a stove, IR broiler, convection, etc. In my next house I want to get the 45" Thermador 6-burner gas cooktop and a Thermador 30" double-oven stack. And no, I don't work for Thermador, I just love cooking on a good stove ;-)

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I would NOT recommend Thermador. The house we bought was equipped with Thermador double ovens and gas cooktop. We had nothing but trouble with the ovens and could never get them adequately fixed. We had to settle for one in decent shape and an annual repair for the second one for big holiday meals and then it was iffy if they could both work simultaneously.

The cooktop was hard to clean and the center griddle was little more than a toy.

Repairs were hideously expensive because of the price of the replacement parts.

I now have a Wolf. I have only been using it a few months. Offhand I'd say the big pluses are the simmer feature which is FANTASTIC and actually makes it possible to walk away from a sauce and to have a stock simmering for 24 hours without attention and the pistons or whatever makes it possible for the door to gently lower itself while you hold a hot, heavy roasting pan. Both of these make it seem like you have an assistant at hand.

The negative I've noticed is the dopey digital settings for temp and time. The oven controls are preset at 350 and 325 but if you want to vary that you have to hold the control clockwise or counter clockwise and hope to hit the right # or keep fiddling back and forth until you do. The timer is set in, first, 1 minute, then 5 minute, then larger increments. So that's a lot of fiddling too for both the timer and other time-related features like automatic on & off.

Still, I'd buy it again. I'm really very happy with it.

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That's good to know. I had not heard anything bad about the Thermador models I was looking at but I didn't hear anything bad about my DCS before I bought it either. I would recommend looking at online review and talking to a appliance repair shop about anything you decide to buy before you actually make the purchase, it will save you some headaches I'm sure...

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