Part of the problem with CR is they don't include long term durabilty of appliances when they give their rankings and best picks.They say there is no good way to judge that becasue the older an appliances gets the more variables are involved. They also think the appliance makers reputations are irrelevant. They dont seem to have a problem including those things in car rankings. A new Ford model is too soon to judge for reliablity but a new Toyota model gets a pass based on Toyota's track record. Their task to judge an appliance's performance is either too simple or not a task an appliance owner would perform in real life. They try to standardize test by using the same procedure on all appliance to accomplish a particular task instead of reading manufacture directions on what procedure is best to accomplish the particular task for the test. Then they don't create a test to explore the limits of the better appliances. Like how well can you sear a rare steak on Bluestar's 22k btu burner or how hard can the water get you feed a Miele Diamond DW and dishes still come out perfect because of the built-in water softner. There used to be Appliance Magazine but now it is only a website.There is a trade journal about appliance design but I think that is too insider for 99.9% of consumers. There is applianceadvisor.com geared toward appliance salespeople,appliance store owners/managers, and appliance distributors.There are retired people that used to work for appliance makers post there too.Other sites are geared toward appliance repair people. Appliances change too infrequently,appliances choices too limited and appliance purchases are too infrequent to support something like Cooks Illustrated. There is the Cookware Forum on Chowhound that has limited appliance discussion but this forum is much better. The other appliance forums that are active are foreign based that discuss mostly appliances not available here. Other American based sites trying to rate appliances by consumer feedback don't get enough public particpation to be relevent and mostly because sites for spam.At least to my knowledge.

Now I'm in the mood for pork! For a quick dinner I like Char-Siu sauce - it's a molasses based chinese bbq sauce (I don't have any right now so I can't check the ingredients or the spelling but I've approximated it before with soy, molasses, ginger and garlic). Great with cole slaw. If I have more time I like this recipe from Betty Crocker - very flavorful! Caribbean Pork Roast 1 pork boneless double center loin roast, 2 to 2 1/2 pounds 1 cup orange juice 1/2 cup lime juice 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper sauce 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into eighths 1 medium onion, cut into fourths 4 garlic cloves, crushed Salt and pepper to taste 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1. Remove fat from pork. Pierce pork deeply all over with meat fork or skewer. Place pork in heavy resealable plastic food-storage bag. Place remaining ingredients except salt and pepper to taste, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in blender or food processor. Cover and bend until smooth. Pour blended mixture over pork. Seal bag; place in dish. Refrigerate at least 4 hours but no longer than 24 hours, turning bag occasionally. 2. Heat oven to 325ºF. Remove pork from marinade; refrigerate marinade. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper to taste. Place pork on rack in shallow roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer so tip is in center of thickest part of pork and does not rest in fat. 3. Roast uncovered 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes or until thermometer reads 155°F. Remove pork from pan. Cover and let stand 15 to 20 minutes or until thermometer reads 160°F (medium doneness). 4. Pour marinade into 1 1/2-quart saucepan. Stir in sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens slightly. Serve sauce with pork.

Thanks, everyone. The price at Amazon and Walmart = $109.?? i spent a lot of time reading reviews for the Akorn Kamado Jr..Lots of reviews and most buyers were happy with it. I was thinking, since I already have a propane grill, that I might enjoy using the small Kamado-like (not ceramic, but enameled steel) grill for two things: 1. Baking artisan pizzas outside, especially in hot weather when we need to run the AC inside. 2. Smoking small things like Salmon fillets, turkey breast, fish, vegetables or chicken. We try not to eat fatty red meats like beef, brisket, steak, ribs ;-( However: I looked at reviews. Lots of people love it, and it is very affordable, BUT 1. It is not well-machined or assembled. 2. It does conserve charcoal and can get very hot - good for pizzas and searing. 3. Supposed to be a "smoker" too but you have to buy a $40 ceramic stone and even then, many argue that the heat source is too close to what you want to (slow) smoke. 4. Customer support doesn't look so good. *** Meanwhile, there is someone On CL giving away a free nice offset smoker. I don't want to/cannot eat a lot of smoked beef, pork and fatty chicken. But I do enjoy some amount of turkey, chicken and fish. older ad, so may be gone. Supposedly ONLINE there are How-Tos on how to tinker with and improve one of those Brinkmann like (red one in cellar) cold water smokers. (We have an unused one, see below.) We could keep the $110 red ceramic like cooker I just got for pizzas outdoors, especially on hot days. -- I already have a Char-Griller mini barrel charcoal grill. I mostly use this as a small fire pit, but sometimes cook over the coals. -- I also have a Webber Baby Q gas grill. Easy to use. -- In the garage I have an unused, Brinkmann style water smoker. Never used. Was going to sell or give away, but it's heavy gauge steel and I've heard that there are ways to tinker with them. Otherwise, the are leaky and run through fuel and in cold (New England) weather, you cannot really count on them to smoke anything for very long. They just cannot get and stay hot. -- Currently we make an artisan pizza ~ every 10 days and bake it in a kitchen oven for 7-8 minutes at 550 deg. F which gives good results. -- Someone gave me a couple of 20" long Jenn-air electric rotisserie units, but we don't yet have any stove or grill that the can work with. Maybe we can jury rig some way to sop port them and keep them covered? Anyone here use the Weber 18" or 22" kettle grill with either the smokerette set up or the rotisserie unfit? I'm wondering what rotisserie baking offers? Guess that's pretty much got to be fatty/critter skin as well? I love cooking, love eating, like cooking outside, and love good gadgets. Problem I sleeping these gadgets clean, storing them. I appreciate your ideas and feedback. Here is some info on the Akorn Kamado Jr. https://www.amazon.com/Char-Griller-Akorn-Kamado-Kooker-Charcoal/dp/B00EBWBFQQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

I hate it when people don't answer the questions being asked and then chime in with a different solution and I am going to be THAT person today. Sorry, but..... I have a very similar conundrum in my kitchen as yours with views, sight lines, high ceilings and cross ventilation issues and came up with a very similar plan to yours. Two islands. My walk through pantry has to be behind the rear island, and does not have full height walls.... (I was planning on putting open shelving above the rear island but my cats are clumsy, long distance jumpers and would knock everything off. So that aspect is on hold until they are more sedentary. But getting back to a different answer to your questions, I would never do a built in deep fryer and tepenyaki. After living with counter top air fryer ovens and other countertop appliances while planning and waiting for my reno, it is my personal opinion that deep fryers are obsolete and I would never design a long standing kitchen around that. There are so many innovations in this field coming out every week and they are comparatively inexpensive so that after a couple of years, it doesn't hurt to upgrade. I have designed the back of my rear island to have 18 inch deep appliance garages where I can house everything without countertop clutter. The front part of the island is 30 inches deep. The back of that appliance garage has 6 inch deep shelving facing into my walk through pantry on the other side. This sits on top 24 inch deep cabinetry which is then under the appliance garage and 6 inch deep shelving. The height of this pantry is 54 inches which is the height of the bottom of my windows on the back wall of my house. ( It's totally unconventional but it works for us. ) Another thought, ( as I said, my layout is so similar to yours. )Is it possible to somehow switch your powder room and service area so that your powder room is further away from your kitchen and not opening almost directly into it?