I think Route 110 down near Farmingdale has a bunch of places to look and also Freeport. I believe Hempstead Tpke around Westbury does too.

Friends of our just yesterday were saying that their Calacatta Gold marble is "bulletproof" -- which you never hear anyone say about marble! I think it is just that so many people -- interior designers, fabricators, etc -- warned them away from it, saying they would have so many problems. They have 3 children ages 10 and under, often entertain, and host big groups on holidays. They have had no stains and have some etching, but since it's honed, you really have to look to see them. They squeeze limes for margaritas and drink red wine with gusto. The wife did mention that she loves the little pits -- an imperfection that might bother some. They look forward to it showing some wear over the years.

I think you have to decide if you are the kind of person for who door dings on your brand new car bother you. Do you park far away from everyone to avoid people who don't notice such things (and open their car door into yours)? Or are you that person who doesn't even realize (so you open the door wide and maybe touch another person's car)? If you are the former (like me!), then you might end up policing the counters and annoying everyone else in the house who is the latter type of person.

As PPs said, staining isn't an issue b/c of great sealers (at least for me). Etching is just dullness (and you can hire a pro ever few years if you want to re-buff the whole countertop). What gets me is that it shows tiny cracks easily - again, talking Carrara not what you are considering (guessing Carrara is softer). Example: If I'm standing at the counter and drop a fork, it will put a 1cm long white chip in the marble (you can feel the indent). I'm guessing its like door dings, in that only the first few are painful. At least I hope so.

That all said - that the tiny dings bother me - I would do it again b/c in my high COL area (like LI I'm guessing) the Carrera was about 1/2 the cost of quartzite or quartz, and it is so, so beautiful - I just stare at it sometimes.

HTH! (PS: That all said, we're about to gut renovate the master bath, and while I've always wanted a mostly marble bathroom, I'm probably going to go with porcelain (light gray floor, subway white shower walls) for easier maintenance.

Go with what you love. There are pros and cons to every surface, you just have to figure out what you can deal with. I agonized over this, but every other kitchen decision fell into place when I finally decided to pick what I loved (marble!) It's my favorite thing in the whole room. I knew if I didn't get a countertop I loved to look at all day every day, I would never really love my kitchen.

Marble is a bit expensive and a lot of times quite demanding, especially when you have young children playing around the house all day. It can scratch easily and it can also stain. There are plenty of different alternatives on the market that allow you, not only to benefit from the same resistance and structure but also give your kitchen counters that pristine look you're searching for. Some of the look-alike alternatives you could try are Neolith, Caesarstone, Quartzite, Palisandro or Calacatta.

Another solution might be to get the marble on most of your surfaces and use another more forgiving surface where most of the action takes place in your kitchen; such as an island. I've got honed marble on my perimeters and wood on my island. I use the wood island for most of my prep work and it is also where most of my family or friends congregate with drinks and food.

The marble is next to my stove, prep sink and the coffee area so it still sees a lot of action and it is etched. But, it is almost impossible to see the etches. I've tired to show them to friends who are curious, but I've given up because they can never see them. I've stopped looking for them or even caring about them as well.

I debated marble for well over a year and after owning it for just over 10 months I am very pleased with my decision to get it in my kitchen.

I am going to "be brave" too and get marble. It is just so gorgeous and similar quartzite is out of my budget. I am just going to reseal it regularly, and live with the etching. Its not the end of the world.

Two of the most gorgeous things: honed marble and Jason Momoa, aka Khal Drogo.

Date and fantasize about Jason and marble all you want, but marry neither.

My marble (statuary marble, honed) is 4 years old. No stains. Lots of etches. I barely notice them. Not one person has ever commented on them. I would go marble on my perimeters too if I had to do it over again. The marble is my favorite thing in the house. Oh, and I hate door dings and avoid them as much as possible!

Wow! I can't believe I got so many comments on this. So happy and will read through it all later today. You people ROCK! Just a quick update, we live on LI and found fabricator we like, Marbleline in Westbury. Stella is great and so helpful. Today we just found Calacatta Gold Bhorgini marble at European Marble in Farmingdale (Dubon Ct.) honed that is the slab I want (if I win the battle) they are also great there and I thought their selection was the best I've seen so far in marble, granite. They have multiple locations but when they get a lot, they split it up between locations so you don't have to trek into Brooklyn to see it all, the Melville location will have it. kerri helped me and they are so friendly and nice. We also found a granite and quartzite piece we like in case we (me) get talked out of marble. I am holding strong and preparing to present my case to DH and do my research. We took a chunk of carerra marble and taj mahal quartzite home (Stella's idea from marbleline) and we're planning to test it ourselves. I've seen photos of honed marble with etching and I'm ok with it. My tests will be with jelly, tea, wine, coffee, lemon, peanut butter, oj, grape juice, Gatorade, butter, honey, milk, cereal, ice cream (can you tell I have kids!!) and see how it turns out. On a daily basis this kind of stuff happens on my counters today so I expect this to continue...... sigh...... I just think that I love marble so much that even with the patina over time, it will still be stunning.

Oh, and thanks , Jillius for the Jason Momoa shot. That is so my style. haha. Remember 'Smith" from sex and the city.....

Another deflating realization: fabricators are way expensive! The marble prices are within my range but had no idea that fabrication would sometimes cost MORE than the marble! Quartzite fairly expensive. I have 50 ft.² which includes island and countertops. Being quoted between 11 and 15 K for the quartzite and fabrication. Being quoted the same and higher for marble (along the calacatta lines)!In fact some between 20k and 37k. if we can't get better prices than these, and we will keep searching, I guess we will have to consider quartz or granite. Maybe it's just the long island effect. Gotta love living here!

Wow, 27k to 30k. That's a lot for 50 sq ft. Did you take any pictures of that slab?