>>As Alton Brown on one of his shows once said: "A broiler is nothing more
>>than an upside down grill."
>
>Did he also say that most residential broilers don't get hot enough to
>cook steaks and chops quickly enough, much less sear them?

I don't know about "most", not having any sales figures.

I do know that the least expensive stoves have a 'broiler' that just
burns the gas. These get reasonably hot, but probably don't broil
the way you'd like.

I spent a bit more on my stove and got one where the gas also heats
up a metal frame, to where it glows red. This broils just as well
as glowing red coals, or glowing red hot anything else. After some
testing, I've ajusted the hight of the rack I use (over a removable
pan to hold any drippings) so that about 2 1/2 minutes per side
does a thin steak or lamb chops to medium rare. That's probaly as
hot as anything you'd want to use at home.