Worth it or not, kitchen edition

So says the LA Times. I will argue against the mortar and pestle (too much effort for something a food processor can do) , for a toaster oven (melted cheese on an english muffin, anyone?) against the vanilla bean (extract does the job fine unless you are a serious pastry chef) and add a good bread knife to his other two knife suggestions. Yes to the microplane, dutch oven, and roasting pan. I would add a good cast iron pan to the list, a baking sheet lined with a silpat, a can opener (uh, duh), and tongs, a heat proof spatula, and a peppernill also come to mind as well as a chinese spider to extract things out of water or broth. I'm sure I could come up with lots more things one shouldn't buy or should. But this is a start.