A few additions to homechef59's accurate and succinct comments. Am familiar with BS, have cooked on culinarian and own a capital DF. I think the burners between the 2 are a wash, both seem to be designed to put even/high heat on pan and wok bottoms . Both have very good simmer performance. I liked the Capital grill better, but have only read one critical comment on Bluestar which was that it wasn't as hot and others rave about their Bluestar grills. I would give a nod to Capital on the ovens--self cleaning, well-insulated and the elec on the DF has some unique features. You may read a non-owner's criticisms on Capital's fast recovery mode, for me that's a benefit, not a flaw. I have an AG Wolf and don't like how hot Wolf and BS doors and front get when I'm running them fast. The capital gas oven is smaller than other brands, but I was hard pressed to think of a cooking situation where that would be a problem for me. On the subjective front, I like the Capital's looks better. But, both these are cooking machines so their functionality can take over how they look pretty quickly. However, some households may have another voice weighing in on the looks call, if you get my drift. BS seems to have made the Platinum prettier than earlier models. If you like to cook, you're in a sweet decision spot either way.
As for hoods, no where as easy a call. My only recs are as large a capture area as possible, exceed the cooking area by 3" on either side and as deep as possible. We went to 30" deep on our last one from 27." My experience (based on only 2 premium wall mount hoods) is that capture area and size are slightly more important than CFMs for good exhaust performance. Duct runs, wall or island mounts, warming lights, cabinet configurations round the hood, blower choices, noise and noise suppression can make normals Ambien-reliant. Fortunately you'll get many of posts on this one if you ask. Finally, another nod to Trevor and Eurostoves. He solved a lot of problems for us along the way.
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utensils behind range top?
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