yep! I hardly ever toss any liquid down the drain any more; leave spaghetti water to cool overnight & pour it onto the compost, drain canned peaches, mandarin oranges, & pineapple so that the liquid goes into the compost bucket (unless I have the kind that's packed in pineapple juice, in which case I drink it), pour cold coffee into the compost or onto a plant. etc. Almost anything you can eat or drink, the garden can eat or drink.

When I went to the appliance store the saleswoman said with certain brands she would recommend all the same if you are going with stainless. Frigidaire was one of those because their finish is different. Otherwise she didn't think it was necessary other than for the range and over the range microwave if you are doing that. She suggested looking at handle styles and how close the appliances will be to each other. We were going to have a couple different brands but Kitchenaid had some great rebates so we ended up with all Kitchenaid. Unfortunately I won't be able to get delivery on all until sometime in July. I like the looks of the Frigidaire Gallery Line but they didn't have the refrig style we needed. One of the plumbers said to stay away from Frigidaire dishwashers but that might be their basic line and not the gallery line. We currently have a VERY OLD Frigidaire refrig and range that were with the house when we bought it. Both have worked well but unfortunately I don't think new appliances are built to the same standards. I don't have my consumer reports handy but I could look in there if you want me to.

I think Outwater Plastics has something but I have never used it. You might want to look into the site. http://www.outwatercatalogs.com/2008_Master/lg_display.cfm?page_number=475&catalog=080147 Here are two other places http://www.allproducts.com/manufacture97/boshida/product1.html http://www.fauxsteel.com/?gclid=CLmYsr2qvpsCFRJM5QodihRsAg And an image. Wow. I am amazed. I heard of this never knew it could be done and look so nice. WOW.

Seeing that nobody has responded, yet, I'll bump this to get your post back on the first page. Been about a decade since I last looked into the less-expensive "pro-styled" ranges, but I'll offer this opinion in hopes that it may garner responses from those more knowledgeable than me about the current models. I just offer this in hopes of getting you more helpful and knowledgeable responses. Off the top of my head, the sub-$2.5k "pro-styled" models these days are: * Brands like like Forte and Verona --- having Italian names but made elsewhere in places like Eastern Europe, Turkey and China. * Models made by Hyxxion Metal Works in China and sold here under the brands of NXR, Kucht, and the Thor brand you mentioned being recommended by your friend. * "Premier Pro" -- a line of cut-rate "pro-style" ranges made in Illinois by the Peerless-Premier company. Now, I do have an NXR model that I bought a decade ago. The market was different then as were the NXR models. I bought mine from Costco because I knew I could take it back for a full refund if I got a lemon or just plain didn't like the stove. The "DRGB" model that I bought was basically NXR's knock-off of the all-gas ranges that Wolf and DCS offered in the late-1980s. A pretty good knockoff to the point that NXR used many of the same components. Apart from the simplicity of the design (readily available off-the-shelf generic replacement components when needed and suitability for DIY maintenance and repair), and apart from the minimal electronics (basically, nothing more than a sparking module that could reignite a burner when a low flame blew out) --- the 1980s pro-style design also offered some advantages for my cooking. The burners were spaced apart more widely than on standard and major brand ranges. This allows me to run four larger pans at the same time. We're talking pans too large to all fit properly together on the major-brand gas stoves back then. (That feature might or might not matter to your cooking and, if it does not, then the "feature" wouldn't be an advantage). The dual-stacked Isphording burners were all the same size, allowing the flexibility of putting any pot any where. Each burner can simmer at a very low heat (low enough to melt chocolate on a paper plate or heat very small pans if that's something you want or need) while each is also capable of cranking out 15,000 BTUs. (As good a flame spread and as hot as some need but no big deal for others; YMMV but, back then, the "big burners" on major-brand gas ranges were more like 12,000 BTU. My NXR's oven can accurately hold a temperature from 130°F up to 550°F. (IIRC, the current models won't go lower than 170°F, but I could be mistaken about that.) It also had an infrared broiler -- great power but limited spread so great for a few steaks, salmon, burgers, etc. but not so great for large trays of themNo pyrolitic oven cleaning (which some see as a feature and others will see as a deficit.) FWIW, cooking with the four large pots all going at once does not overwhelm my kitchen's 650 cfm hood. These days, Costco (and only Costco) carries the current, upgraded versions of the DRGB line, the upgraded models now being designated as "NXR Pro" models The NXR-Pro line is exclusive to Costco. The "Pro" line models now cost about 50% more than the DRGB stoves cost back when I bought mine. Also, just checked the Costco website and found that the 30" wide NXR-Pro model which was about $2400 now seems to have been dropped from the line-up; only 36" and 48" wide sizes are available. Different NXR lines and designs --- along with the sibling models sold under the Thor and Kucht brands --- are available elsewhere such as at big box stores like Home Depot and at on-line sellers like AJ Madison. IIRC, those NXR lines are titled "NXR Entree" and "NXR-Culinary." Those lines --- and the Thor and Kucht siblings --- have different components including plain, flat capped, single level sealed burners. rather like what you find on the LG you are looking at. (IIRC,some of the current models may have one dual-stacked burner.) Some of the current models are now in dual-fuel configurations (electric ovens and gas stovetops). But, apart from the styling and somewhat less electronics, I don't see them -- or the Italian-named brands --- offering any advantage or benefit over the LG model you were considering and the LG costs less. (Also, as best I can tell, the burners on the Hyxxion stoves as well as those on the LG can be lit with a match during power outages, unlike some major brand gas ranges which route everything through control electronics.) Peerless-Premier's "Pro" line is less expensive than the LG model you are considering But there are reasons for that. If you want to consider a Premier Pro, please read the user reviews and search out the older threads here which discuss the Premier pro stoves. Better yet, see if you can persuade the friend who recommended the Thor to check out the reviews and threads and see if he/she still thinks a Thor range would be a better bet for you than the LG model you listed above. :>}