u/Homruh

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some insight on my next built-in grill engine. For context, I’m a professional cook based outside the US, so my brand availability is a bit restricted, but I have a deep appreciation for solid engineering and build quality.

My hosting requirements vary: I frequently cook for 10–15 people, and occasionally scale up to 30–35 guests.

My last setup was a generic 6-burner BI grill that recently died due to severe internal corrosion. While I was able to get decent results out of it (and my old Weber Q), it had two massive flaws that I cannot repeat in my next kitchen:

Bad Heat Recovery: Once loaded with a heavy volume of meat, the grid temperature plummeted. It took far too long to recover between batches, and cracking the lid instantly bled all the ambient heat. I need massive thermal mass or raw power.
Violent Flare-ups: Even when thoroughly cleaned, high-fat cuts instantly turned the firebox into an inferno, ruining the cook.

I’m highly skilled enough to build a great crust on almost anything, so I don't need "gimmicks"—I need heat retention, fast recovery, and reliable grease management., but obviously an easy crust with an infrared burner is cool!

Coyote S-36: I was offered a decent dealer deal on this, but it still sits just beyond what I want to spend. Is the performance, internal infrared burner, and ceramic briquette system truly so superior that it justifies breaking the budget?

Bull Lonestar: I have a great deal lined up here. My main hesitation is whether its traditional sheet-metal heat tents can handle intense, high-fat grilling sessions without constant flare-ups, and if standard rod grates will bleed too much heat when fully loaded.
Broil King Regal vs. Imperial: The Imperial sits slightly above my budget but checks a lot of boxes. I know the BTU count looks low on paper, but I've read great things about its insulated kiln-like design and heat retention.
- The Dilemma: The Imperial comes with their patented Cast Stainless Steel grates, which sound perfect but cost a premium. The Regal fits my budget perfectly but comes with standard Cast Iron grates. Because I live in a high-humidity environment, I am highly concerned about the longevity and rust potential of the Regal’s cast iron. Is the Imperial upgrade strictly necessary for durability, or is the Regal's build quality robust enough to last?
Ziegler & Brown Turbo Elite (5-Burner): I tested this at a friend's place and was incredibly impressed by the raw radiant heat from the quartz domes. It’s slightly over budget, and there is very little long-term info online. The dealer swears the historical build quality/corrosion issues have been completely solved, but my friend has only owned his for 3 months. Does anyone have long-term experience with the durability of the RQT system?

One final question for the group: I’d love to hear from anyone who has directly compared full radiant heat (like the quartz domes or large IR burners) against standard convection heat from traditional burners. Can you actually feel a significant difference in how it sears and retains energy during a heavy cook, or is the gap smaller than the marketing suggests?

I’d love to hear from anyone who has pushed these specific machines to their limits, particularly regarding high-volume catering and recovery times, and I am also open to some new options. Thanks!

I’ve been lurking on this sub for a while, but a recent purchase finally pushed me to write my first review.

For context, I’m a line cook at a high-end restaurant, working six days a week. My prep list is relentless: endless onion brunoise, herbs, and tomatoes, very ripe ones. So a knife in my work rotation doesn't just need to look good, it needs to survive!

The Specs:

Steel: Blue #1, Stainless Clad

Edge Length: 230mm

Blade Height at Heel: 50.5mm

Weight: 168g

Fit and Finish: The blade has a clean, hairline finish, but the real attention to detail reveals itself in the ergonomics. Both the spine and choil are polished. Notably, the choil features an asymmetrical polish, flat on the left and rounded on the right, much like a traditional single-bevel knife. For a right-handed user holding a pinch grip for hours on end, this level of comfort is a quality-of-life upgrade.

Balance & Cutting Feel (The "Stiff Laser"): At 168 grams, this sits in laser territory, but it completely avoids the "whippy" or bendy feeling common to many thin knives. It provides a surprisingly stiff, authoritative cutting experience. You get the lightweight agility needed for lightning-fast push cuts, but without that fragile sensation when tackling denser root vegetables. For context, I generally dislike pure lasers and sold my Shibata and Takeda fairly quickly because of that flex. This Taira hits the absolute perfect sweet spot.

Performance & Geometry: The grind on this knife is insane. It breezes through the densest foods with zero wedging, while maintaining the thinness required for precision work. If I had to point out a weakness, the food release is fairly average. It’s not a dealbreaker by any means. The smooth buffing-wheel finish may create a bit of surface tension with wetter ingredients.

Core Steel & Edge Retention (The Real Magic): This is the main reason I felt compelled to write this review. The heat treatment on Taira’s Blue #1 is nothing short of extraordinary.

In my prep-heavy kitchen, tomato skins are the ultimate enemy. With my Takeda NAS, Shibata AS, and Okubo, I was honing on a Belgian Blue Whetstone (BBW) once or twice mid-prep, and taking them to my Aizu almost every single day just to keep an aggressive bite. Stepping up to a Watanabe 240mm Gyuto improved things immensely: I only needed the stones once a week and the BBW every other day.

Then came Taira’s Blue #1. Aogami 1 is known for being refined, but Taira manages to coax an aggressive bite out of it, combined with edge retention that honestly feels unreal. Out of the box it was fantastic, but I like sharpening, so I quickly put my own edge on it, finishing on the Aizu. Ten days later (with only two light touch-ups on the BBW), it is still biting into soft, overripe tomatoes flawlessly. The exact kind of tomatoes that usually mock my other knives after a single shift.

To put this in perspective, I also own and love a 240mm Kagekiyo Blue #1 forged by Yoshikazu Tanaka. Tanaka’s heat treat feels finer and glassier. It holds an edge, but it loses that toothy "bite" relatively quickly. On the stones, Tanaka's B1 takes a bit longer to raise a burr and feels slightly muted. Taira’s Blue #1, however, is an absolute joy to sharpen. It offers fantastic tactile feedback and gets screaming sharp with minimal effort.

Final Thoughts: This knife completely changed my perspective on what a well-treated Blue #1 can do in a brutal professional environment. Can’t wait for my next B1 iron clad to arrive!

Built-in grill advice