Neither for me until we find another builder. Fuckers.
Normally I would agree but after using it I changed my mind. Things that usually require a double boiler can be done directly on the burner like melting chocolate. The btu range of the normal burners cant get down that low. It’s great for holding very delicate sauces or other things that just need to be kept warm.
Bill - i am a little late to this party but completely reno’d everything last year. I looked at and tested the bluestar but went with the wolf, I felt it had better finishing. Best feature for me is the grller. it is a ceramic base and boy it gets hot. I added a remote 1200cfm blower and the combo is wicked. Now in my climate where I do not want to go outside for 4-5 months to use a bbq, it really makes sense. The oven racks are on rollers so bending over is kept to a minimum.
Here is a pic, i only had room for a 36, but if I could have had 48 I`d add extra grilling space.
My one learning - go big on the hood! YOu can smell the cooking outside, but hardly in the house. Great for using a wok as well.
Okay, you guys are making me jealous. We have a 70 year old (srsly) O’Keefe and Merritt, double ovens, with a griddle. We had it restored when we bought it, and it’s actually an awesome range (and looks right in our nearly 100 year old house), but not so great for baking, which is what is obsessing me right now.
Something like this?
http://www.antiqueappliances.com/products/restored/1948_o'keefe_&_merrit_gas_stove.htm
That’s a pretty fancy one. Actually, it’s exactly like this one:
Bumping this up to see if the Blue Star owners are still satisfied?
I’m also considering Wolf and Thermador. Thermador looks solid with great features and is in the middle of the BS and Wolf in terms of btu power. From what I’ve read, Thermador’s reliability was questionable years ago, but seems to have improved.
Wolf is still the top dog in terms of precision and build quality, but I don’t like the round burners and it’s got the lowest performance in terms of btu.
Blue Star looks awesome, just a little concerned about reliability and service should something go awry.
Thanks for the feedback!
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Brett
I bought a Capital Culinarian Series a couple months ago, and am ecstatic. Wonderful fit and finish, with to die for 23K BTU burners and one lower power simmer burner. Big oven with big window, and a really nice broiler. Worth checking it.
love my wolf man. Love it. Oven takes forever to preheat tho.
Thanks for the feedback guys.
Charlie - any issue with small pots on the Wolf burner? I was watching a video comparing a bluestar and a wolf and I really like how the bluestar’s burners hit any kind of pot squarely in the middle.
Safe to say I am over analyzing everything at this point…
The burners on a Wolf don’t hold a candle (pun intended) to the Capital Culinarian. I was also told (no confirmation on this, but the store sells both) that Wolf was going to a sealed burner ONLY, with much lower BTU output.
You’re correct, Wolf burners are sealed and output is 15K.
the flames tend to envelop small pots if that’s what you’re asking. To be honest I’ve never had a problem getting stuff hot enough, I use a wok pretty often and it’s fine. My problem sometimes is that it’s too hot. Simmering liquids has this minuscule point on the knob that gets it just right, I feel like there’s almost no leeway with it which is a bit annoying.
I’ve only installed one Bluestar and not for years. To me the look and chassis construction of the Wolf is nicer, and it definitely carries more cache and resale value. Not that that is tnecessarily the main concern.
Bluestar definititely has more poser to the large burners. 15k to 22k is not very often a major necessity, but can be a plus for sure. Charlie, your complaint about the Wolf is actually what I felt is/was a benefit over Bluestar and Thermador. Though perhaps those two have improved. The Wolf ultra-low separate element on the burners can get down to a very low BTU output for stuff like sauces, candy, holding.
Another factor is the ovens. We might have already discussed it up-thread but the Wolf comes dual-fuel whereas Bluestar is gas only. The electric oven on the Wolf is a bonus for serious baking. For other uses it’s no better.
I have an old Thermador Professional drop-in. It is nice to have the burner which is an outer circle then a cross dividing the center of the circle closer to the Bluestar flame shape than the Wolf. IMO the open burners are a tad preferable to closed, but there are plusses to both. I think with a small pot, the flame might envelope in all of these designs at a high setting.
i think the ultra low part of the burner is too hot at the high to mid end and too low at the low end. It infuriates me.
[quote="Charlie Fu]
i think the ultra low part of the burner is too hot at the high to mid end and too low at the low end. It infuriates me.[/quote]
Gotcha. I thought you were saying that you just couldn’t get it low enough. I’ve installed a bunch of Wolf’s and checked their functions, but have never had one. I have a feeling from see the way Bluestar operates, as well as my Thermador, that fine tuning at very low end of the flame scale is just difficult and that there is a warming benefit to the lowest end of the Wolf scale. Next thing you know someone will come up with a digitally controlled burner.
Thanks again for the info guys.
I’m gong to pull the trigger on a Blue Star; I think it will fit my cooking needs the best and the price is right.
Brett - Did you get the bluestar? If so, are you happy with the ability to simmer?
We have had a Bluestar for years. Very happy with it and great simmer (no clicking). 22k BTU’s. Oven holds full sheet pans.
Thanks Gene. Does the Bluestar allow you to choose how many burners allow simmering like that? If so, how many do you have?