An example of my culinary whorishness... Or the Gayest Purchase Ever

So, I was shopping in Williams Sonoma the other day, and my partner David picks up a nice chopping block. Well, to be precise, it was a mezzaluna board (refer to picture). I'm thinking, "that's nice, but..." Then I realize what it is. There is an actual mezzaluna knife in a slot on the board. We pull it out and lo and behold, it's a SHUN blade. I'm not going to get into what exactly a SHUN blade means to me at this point since I'm planning on writing an entry on the topic of kitchen knives (hey, I not only sell them, I collect them), but suffice it to say that IMO they're one of two or three companies that sells commercial kitchen knives in the US that are at the top of the list. David's gawking at the thing, and saying that he's always wanted one so he doesn't "have to chase herbs around a board." I'm sort of thinking the same thing. But there are some problems here:

1) our kitchen is TINY. I've collected so much kitchen shit in the past couple years and I have so many different herbs/spices/condiments that there's literally no space for actual cooking left.

2) it's a total unitasker. This is something that basically performs exactly one function besides being so darn pretty. It chops up herbs. If you want to really stretch the point, it's good for mincing things like garlic and onion too. 99% of the time, I'm in agreement with Alton Brown of the Food Network who says that things that are only good for one thing should never come into one's kitchen (with the exception of a fire extinguisher). Yeah... um, but it IS a knife and I CAN use the board to do other thingsm maybe.

3) it's FRICKIN expensive. Don't get me wrong. Being a sales whore at a gourmet kitchen supply store, I have my fair share of expensive things in my kitchen. While some purchases are truly frivolous (like this one's seeming right now), there is a point in which you really do get better quality for your big bucks. No, I'm not saying spend 19.50 on a jar of spaghetti sauce, but a pan, pot, knife, mixer, well, you may as well save up and spend it.

The above being said, I'm justifying my purchase. All things considered, the most important thing of any purchase one makes is the bottom line of "I really like it." And I do, really. :D In terms of the cons listed above...

1) It's pretty enough to actually be left out.

2) ok, but the blade is a SHUN, man!

3) expensive, yes, but I did get it at a significant discount...

Bottom line again, I like it, and as for the unitasker thing, at the point in which I decided it was purty enough to leave on my counter, it serves a second purpose as counter sculpture. Yeah, I know. I'm a total whore as is my partner who found it, and we have made the GAYEST purchase ever.

Happy cooking!