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zuponcic

New Verona range

12 years ago

I begin by saying that I have a Lacanche in my main home in NJ. I have now a second house in MN that I am remodeling a bit--especially the kitchen. I love enameled stoves, but my budget for this renovation is limited--I'm lucky to have found a good carpenter who has turned my old, simple birch cabinets into something quite pretty. So, having said that, I looked a long time at the options available to me at the price point I could afford: 2K would have been nice, but I could stretch it to 3K. I ordered the Verona in bisque from AJ Madison and two poor guys delivered it in 30 below zero weather last week. It was hooked up two days ago and I took it for a big test drive, roasting, baking and using the cooktop. It doesn't have the physical weight of the Lacanche, which is a bit of a tank, but it is a good solid, well made and beautiful --slightly contemporary--range. The burners are all responsive, the middle one comes with a wok ring, there is plenty of power and I think you can cook up quite a storm on this stove. I know there will be a learning curve because like all gas ovens, the temperatures are a bit vague. Each burner has its own ignition, unlike the Lacanche, where you have to hold down a button while turning the knob to ignite. There is a fan in the oven, lovely stainless top, and I have to admit that the oven racks are only a million percent better than the Lacanche. But we knew that. The grates are not as heavy as Lacanche , but very substantial and although they aren't advertised as continuous grates, they really are, exactly as the Lacanche.
Not quite sure why this well priced, pretty range hasn't taken off. We'll see how it holds up when I get a longer time to work with it, but so far, I'm very happy. By the way, the bisque color is quite ivory, and in the daylight looks pale yellow. Very pretty color but not completely neutral--you should see it before you choose paint colors.

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  • 12 years ago

    haha, I'm reading all this because I'm interested in possibly a Verona, and I'm so happy there is a great thread about it! I'm also looking at the Berta and the GE Monogram (and now maybe the Electrolux Icon). But the thing I'm smiling about is that I'm assuming you are all so much younger than I am!! My old Magic Chef is just like all the other ovens I grew up with. And the good news is that you don't need any readouts or gadgets (other than a thermometer if you REALLY are insecure about the oven not reaching the right temp or the oven is new and you are still trying to see how accurate it is). You just preheat it for 10 or 15 min. That's it. That's what they've been doing since ovens were invented, I think. :) It's not really rocket science, so don't stress yourself over it!! I'm a big baker (and if I might say so, a really good one at that) and I've never had trouble. Yes, I know my current oven runs a little hot, so I tweak it about 15-25 degrees when baking, and I usually check it about 5 min prior to the stated cook time, but other than that, all is always good. In fact, the idea that I read so many reviews in which people comment on this "lack" of a feature worries me. Does this mean that newer ovens are really unreliable? Has something changed over the years? Because baking something (unless it's a soufflé or a Baked Alaska or something) isn't going to change a ton if the temp is off a little bit. Just a cute piece of trivia to show how spoiled we've all become by modern technology -- in my grandmother's day, her oven had three temps - "slow", "medium", and "hot". she knew it was the temp she needed based on how long she could tolerate the heat when she stuck her arm in the oven. My advice is don't fret over the little stuff when there's already so many things to consider when purchasing an oven. Wishing everyone well and lots of luck in your decisions! :)

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