Ours is John Boos Hard Rock Maple, in the oiled finish.
We cut right on it. Not all wood species are hard enough to be NSF rated. This is.

Okay thanks, interested in additional comments and suggestions that anyone might have.

You might like lyptus, it is warm sustainable(farmed) hardwood. Remember, all woods will change color over time, walnut will lighten, others will darken or become more gold or red or orange. The color of a wooden countertop will also vary with the finish used, ie waterlox or oil.
I assume you are doing waterlox and you are not cutting on it, based on your mention of "plank style"

Yeah definitely going a waterlox type satin finish.

Yeah definitely going a waterlox type satin finish.

Your space reads neutral-the floor is a clasic hardwood that is a backdrop for anything- end grain bamboo parquet would be that right mix of classic/durable/beautiful and complex yet subtle enough to help the space and not overwhelm it.That's what I would do.....I think its Teragren and they have different shades....don't avoid the end grain-it would really work in your kitchen and give a timeless quality.

The middle sample blends beautifully with the counters and does not overtake the floor.

I like the middle sample too. It picks up the flecks of brown in the granite.

Thanks for everyone's feedback so far. We're leaning towards the middle sample too (teak from jaaron). Sample was a little lackluster though, not sure if you can tell from the picture. Wood quality seems a bit off and I think we'd prefer a bit more sheen.

I just got a black walnut from Craft Art, actually. Mine is a bit lighter than your sample overall, but pieces of it are probably about that tone (or how it looks on screen, anyway).

What about one of the reclaimed woods? They have more character but won't experience as much (if any) change over time... they've already aged!

This is Reclaimed Beech:
{{!gwi}}

This is Reclaimed Chestnut:

And this is a Black Walnut that seems lighter than your sample.

can you request something on the lighter end of the spectrum? (they'll probably give you the manditory "its a natural product thing" like companies do with stone, but that doesn't mean they won't try! I am pretty sure they have to put that in writing to for the whole CYA thing. - msg me if you need me to write what CYA stands for!)

Here is a link that might be useful: site where i got pics from