Curto's Appliances – Kitchen Appliance Package Kings!

Here we go!

Was just notified of a Subzero Wolf price increase effective Nov 1. Averages will be 3-7% depending on product.
Look for all of the other high-end brands to follow suit.

Time to get your orders placed folks!

While I always tell shoppers that when shopping for pro ranges you can’t base your decision on the BTU power that manufacturers report, alas, many people are still hung up on these numbers.
That said, with the idea that I won’t to put as many accurate information at consumers’ fingertips so they can make the right purchase decision, here is a breakdown on three popular 36″ pro ranges.
We’ll focus on Burner BTU’s and then Oven BTU’s and capacity.

Burner BTU’s

DCS RGU366 – max 17,500 btus, min 3000 btus
Wolf R366 – max 16,000, min 500 btus
Thermador PRG366EPG – max 15,000 btus, min 375 btus (on the 2 ExtraLow burners)

Oven Capacity

DCS RGU366 – 5.3 cu ft
Wolf R366 – 5.5 cu ft
Thermador PRG366EPG – 5.7 cu ft

Oven Bake BTUS

DCS RGU366 – 30,000 btus
Wolf R366 – 30,000 btus
Thermador PRG366EPG – 30,000 btus

Oven Broil BTUS

DCS RGU366 – 19,000 btus
Wolf R366 – 18,000 btus
Thermador PRG366EPG – 17,000 btus

I love Wolf gas ranges. While they are now outsold by the Wolf dual fuel ranges (and by quite a large margin as I have been told) I still believe that the
value lies in the gas range. When you are talking a 36″ or a 48″ model, the difference between the gas and the dual fuel product runs into the thousands.
I’m also a fan of the traditional Wolf red knob found on the gas range, as opposed to the thicker one found on the dual fuel range (being that I am a sucker for aesthetics).
There’s not much to say here…Wolf is a Wolf. The leader of the pack.

Thermador ranges are simply beautiful products and they seem to resonate big-time with women. When I’m working with a couple at Curto’s, countless times the wife will comment on the Thermador’s design…while hubby focuses on BTU’s. As I tell everyone who stops in and asks about Thermador ranges, I feel that Thermador’s lead products are their wall ovens, HOWEVER they have invested crazy R & D into their ranges and I’m anticipating a bump in their sales. You also have to love their new 48″ combo steam range which will be hitting the Curto’s showroom imminently. It’s priced over $13K but this thing sings!.

The DCS range is the underdog here. They don’t have the consumer mind share that Wolf or Thermador have. They also don’t have the presence on showroom floors that Wolf and Thermador have. But what they do have is total kick-ass product that has been improved upon and is also less expensive than the other two brands we’re discussing here.
For some folks they might feel like they are taking a risk with a DCS product bc it’s not featured in every other kitchen on the Food TV Network (it’s actually the sole appliance featured on America’s Test Kitchen) nor is it prominently featured in Kitchen magazine spreads. What they do have is a heritage that goes back about 15-20 years for making killer cooking appliances. They also have a pretty solid service network across the country in case you do encounter hiccups with your range (hey it happens to the best manufacturers).

The bottom line is that any of these brands deserve to be in your kitchen. You’ll just have to decide how important price is as well as the brand-name factor. Performance-wise they all rock, though I’d put the DCS and the Wolf ahead of the Thermador in that category, but Thermador is aiming to cut the lead down. Should be interesting.

The three premium outdoor grills that we offer are made by Wolf, Lynx and DCS.
I’m always asked which one I would choose out of the three and what I tell customers is that
you’re in a winning situation because you can’t go wrong with any of them. There are a myriad of other
companies making noise about offering “premium” outdoor grills. IMHO, those words are just that…noise.
Wolf, Lynx and DCS are the ones you need to focus on.

If you want the line that offers the most extensive product offering for a complete outdoor kitchen and who
is regarded as the leader in the outdoor grilling business, go with a Lynx.

If you are comfortable knowing that since Wolf is the leader of indoor high-end cooking appliances and feel that
will translate to the outdoor kitchen, I would go with the Wolf grills. (Note: I took a Wolf grill home this summer and
I’ve been very pleased with it).

Consider DCS if you want your dollar to travel the furthest and you like the idea of maximizing the square inches of your grilling surface – DCS does
this by leaving out the sear burner and instead turning the entire grill surface into a sear zone.

The question as to what is better, a Wolf dual fuel or gas range, is one of the more popular ones we hear in the showroom.
While they are both great products, they are extremely different.
Read the following and hopefully you will be on your way to figuring which Wolf 36″ range works for you.

Buy a Wolf Gas Range if:
- You are still somewhat price sensitive (there’s a $1500 spread between the 36′s, and and even larger one on the 48′s)
- You don’t care about self cleaning
- If you hate electronics (it uses an electronic control panel and some knobs use electrical components as well

Buy a Wolf Dual Fuel Range if:
- You swear by self cleaning
- You want full-extension ball-bearing racks (these are becoming very popular, not only in the pro range category…Electrolux and GE are offering them on more modest models)
- You want sealed burners (the Wolf gas range will offer sealed burners by the end of 2011)
- You want the uber-sexy cobalt blue oven interior!
- You want continuous grates

Magnificent, commanding, regal...what else can I say about this pic. The Wolf 48" range is quite the sight.

We just put a Lynx 36″ gas grill (L36PSFR-1) on display next to the Wolf OG-36 and they are eerily similar to one another. Both offer the following:
- Grates are cut from 304 grade stainless steel
- Internal rotisserie
- Sear burners
- Smoker boxes
- Ceramic briquettes which provide even heat distribution
- Heavy duty weld construction…aka they are built like friggin’ tanks
- Both total 75,000 BTU’s when combining the sear burner and two grill burners.

Opening Day for My Wolf Outdoor Grill

Lynx 36" Gas Grill

I took the Wolf OG-36 grill home a few weeks ago and I’ve been cooking on it almost every night. The power of the Wolf has impressed me and my wife swears that food tastes much better this year on the Wolf than when I was previously cooking on our old Weber Genesis. The only issue with the Wolf is that I have had a few flareups when manually lighting it (in one instance I gave myself a “manscape” when a flareup singed all the hair off the top of my arm). Aside from my adventures in hair removal it’s been a pleasure.

Lynx has done an incredible job branding itself as the premium outdoor grill manufacturer and it will be interesting to see how they deal with the coming battle with Wolf. Let’s face it, Wolf has usurped Viking’s role as the leader in premium indoor cooking appliances and they will try to replicate that feat in the outdoor kitchen space as well. At this point I’m of the mind that if you spend the money on either one (and you will spend quite a bit on these brands) you are getting top-notch quality and will be happy no matter which direction you go. However, I will do some cooking on the Lynx in the next few days and will share my thoughts on comparing it against the Wolf.

I’m going to shoot a video this weekend illustrating proper methods to clean your Wolf outdoor grill so look for that soon. In the meantime here’s a rundown direct from headquarters on how to effectively clean your Wolf outdoor grill.

CLEANING THE EXTERIOR OF YOUR WOLF OUTDOOR GRILL
- use a lint-free or microfiber cloth with a stainless steel cleaner
- if you’re particularly hung-up on aesthetics, apply a polish to maintain luster
- MAKE SURE TO APPLY CLEANER AND POLISH IN SAME DIRECTION AS GRAIN

CLEANING THE INTERIOR OF YOUR WOLF OUTDOOR GRILL
- Leave briquettes and grates in place but remove smoker box
- Turn on all burners to HI, heat grill for 15 mins with hood closed
- Turn OFF, let grill cool
- Use a no-scratch Scotch-Brite pad + mild detergent or spray degreaser, scrub in direction of grain
- Remove burn or heat stains apply Penny Brite cleaning paste to a sponge and lightly rub with grain.

Flame on!

We christened our new Wolf 36″ outdoor grill (Wolf OG-36) this evening in a simple and direct fashion – burger time!

As Nik prepped her Worcestershire & rosemary burgers along with balsamic-infused grilled Portobello mushrooms, I went to work setting up the grill. Here are a few notes:

1 – Are high-end grills worth the money? YES says the boss (my wife) who exclaimed that the first batch of burners I peeled off the Wolf grill were much better tasting that anything we had produced last summer on the Weber. I can see the marking line now…SPEND MORE…TASTES BETTER.

2. The grill’s sturdiness is pronounced. I especially love the dampened hinges on the hood which makes opening and closing seamless. It’s akin to a luxury car…you can feel how well-built it is just by opening a door. It just feels right…

3 – Manually lighting the OG-36 was challenging. There is an orifice (actually 2 of them) in the front of the grill which you need to direct the match into while pressing the gas knob in. One burner took about 5 mins to light (as I went through about 15 matches). I’m going to chalk this up to pilot error and hope for the best tomorrow night. If I have problems again, then implementing the push-button ignition is a lock (which will entail dropping an outdoor plug near the grill). In any case I will be calling Wolf tomorrow to see if there is any advice they can impart on quickly igniting this beast.

3 – After igniting the grill I rubbed the grates down with an olive-soaked paper towel. Why?
So the meat doesn’t stick. What does this have to do with the grill. Nothing. I just wanted to write it

4 – The grill is a friggin’ volcano. I didn’t realize how hot it was getting as the burners are hidden by the grates (much different than my Weber Summit whose flame was easily discernible by the naked eye). The first set of burgers came off the after about 10 mins and cooked perfectly as per Nik. Second set were left on too long and dried out. Need to get a feel for handling this powerful beast. Oh, and I torched the bottom of the Portobello mushrooms but they were salvaged and quite delicious.

Note: The burner output on the Wolf OG-36 doubles the Weber model I owned so this is like handling a Porsche compared to a Volvo. Major difference in performance.

BTW, here’s the spec sheet on my OG36, straight from central casting.

We recently delivered these Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances to a home in Ossining in Westchester County. Note the gorgeous custom cabinetry (hand crafted in their home), especially on the line
with the three SubZero units. Quite a trophy kitchen here folks.