Stainless steel cook ware

Hi All;  In our home, cast iron skillets and dutch ovens have been a long time favorite, and still are.  Unfortunately while raising children  convenience/cost won out and non stick and flimsy stainless pans appeared. These second rate pans were even replaced a few times due to cost constraints. Not Any More!  
Over the past few years I have been researching quality cookware . My My some of them are quite proud of their product... as the price reflects. All of the new "green "non stick cookware sounds nice but has no track record ... So its not for us. Some  of the laminated pans still use aluminum skin ??? Are they crazy? A large portion are made in china!  True restaurant quality  stainless steel pans are shockingly expensive. I looked long and hard at solid copper pans , but they are coated with a tin.... can get scratched and need re tinned.
At last I narrowed it down to laminated stainless steel.  There is a lot of lower quality product not worth your money and there is restaurant quality that few can afford. And then I found  madeincookware.  Restaurant quality , made in america, high quality steel with a FAIR price !! A 12' stainless skillet on sale was $75 bucks delivered, so not cheap but not scare you expensive. Had a 100 day money back guaranty that had my wife smiling (she thought it would be returned)... We love it !  Not being returned and the 12" saute pan with lid is next on the list. We couldn't be happier.  We can't just order all we want right away ... but over the next few years there will be nothing but black iron and stainless steel in our cupboard.  

We've found that thrift stores are the best places to find stainless steel pans. I'm pretty sure 90% of our stainless steel cookware came from thrift stores (we don't use cast iron because my husband can't figure out how to cook on it). We've found some really nice, sturdy ones there, too. And, they're like $5-12 per pan, rather than $30-50.

Speaking of stainless steel, I've found that by cleaning them like Paul cleans his in his cast iron article, my pans are often almost non-stick. I often just scrape at them with a flat metal spatula to get the chunks off, then wipe with a paper towel. This seems to keep them really smooth.

Another trick I've learned is to always let the oil in the pan heat up to "sizzle" level before adding what your cooking (sizzle level is when the pan sizzles when you dribble water on it). This seems to really help keep food from sticking!

That's the place Nicole ! All our stuff came from thrift stores and yard sales when we were young...now that we are not...its all going back in a yard sale!
For the last 1/3 + of our time, I want really nice cookware (do I sound like a whiny little kid ?)
Now that I am home more often, I've become quite the fledgling chef. I want nice stuff ! (REALLY WHINY) I'm willing to pay for it... even if it takes several years.
If these are our golden years then I want shiny stainless cookware to reflect the gold.