[Villages Kahuna]

Nancy,

I know you've commented several times on the issue of the "stick out" refrigerator. But as I read thru the responses below, a couple caught my eye. Susan Toms hit the nail on the head with her recommendation of the Passages book. I think what she might be saying is that people really do move to TV for the life style and find the necessity of leaving some things and people behind are well worth it.

On the practical issue of a refrigerator only as deep as the countertops. We also had one of those "kitchen designer" kitchens up north. One part was a built-in Sub Zero refrigerator. What a piece of crapola! In the ten or so years it as there we spent more than $7,000 repairing the $5,000 refrigerator. When the last recommended repair came about--another $2,000 for new compressors--I had the thing removed to the trash.

My wife and I worried about finding a replacement for the space in the kitchen that wasn't made by Sub Zero, who seemed to dominate the "built-in" segment of the market. We were pleased to find that there are several GE Monogram models (the top of GE's line) that will fit right in the space where the Sub Zero sat, rolling in on wheels and producing a "look" with the front flush with the front of the counters. Take a look at Abt Appliance in Glenview to see them, or look at the Abt website. You'll still have to deal with the unfinished sides of the refrigerator, but we didn't find that at all expensive. And of course, the shallower flush fit models don't hold as much as the "stick out" models, but I'm sure you knew that.

The GE Monogram models aren't quite as expensive as the crappy Sub Zeros, but after having ours for a while both my wife and I concluded that it was a far better refrigerator.

As far as Italians and cooking are concerned, you're going to be surprised at how often "our people" eat out in TV.