MissLivvy,
I don't think the 1.5" narrower width on the blanco will make much of a difference since I think both are wide enough to soak a cookie sheet or roasting pan flat on the bottom (although both of these have a good sized radius on the edges which may make it a little cramped for getting larger items into the sink??).

I had an Elkay in my last house and found it difficult to keep clean. I had previously had a Franke and that cleaned up spic and span so easily. The Blanco I can't offer an opinion on. I do think the Elkay's are USA made if that matters to you.

Have you looked at the Ticor sinks? They are very popular on these boards and many of the models come with bottom grids and some even have colanders. They are very reasonably priced. Some have a more squared off look to them versus the rounded radius of the ones you are looking at. If you like a more streamlined look this might appeal to you and also make it easier to get a large roasting pan in to soak.

I had similar criteria, and chose an Elkay EGUH2816R. I wanted the shallower depth like you and also a rear drain. In addition, I wanted a right rear drain.

I am a little confused. Is it common knowledge that the Bianco will spot less easily than the Elkay? One is brushed, one is satin finish. Naively, I would expect about the same performance.

Oh, and Mamadada, I fear that my Elkay was made in China after all.

Note that I hadn't even cleaned the soapstone dust out of the sink before either of these pictures!

Stupid GW won't let me link to the Elkay website, so here it is done manually:
http://www.elkayusa.com/cps/rde/xchg/elkay/hs.xsl/elkay-res-53782.aspx

mamadadapaige - I had not even thought about the corner radius. It's a good point. The other thing about the Blanco -- I looked at the spec sheets and I think the sides slope so the flat part of the sink bottom is going to be 26 inches, even though the top part of the bowl is 28. I did look at Ticor and decided against since they were 10" deep bowls.

Angie DIY - I was also considering the right rear drain version of the Elkay. I'm not sure the way I'm plummed right now below would work out for that idea. I really like the 8" depth on the Elkay. Like you I am still fuzzy on why the Elkay would be harder to keep clean than the Blanco.

Misslivvy - Both Blanco and Elkay are very well established companies that stand behind their products. Knowing that's the case, there are three specific things I would want if it were my sink.

#1 - A noisy sink (from running water or the clattering of dishes) bugs me, so I'd want to know what's on the underside of the sink to absorb the sound.

#2 - I once broke a wine glass when it fell over in my old sink. That's when I found out the hard way the not all stainless steel sinks have perfectly flat bottoms. The angle on the bottom of my sink made it impossible for my good wine glasses to stand upright. Won't make that mistake again.

#3 - This isn't a big deal to everyone, but for me, I like to know I'm spending on products that are made in America.

Here are links to the spec sheets on the 2 specifc models you mentioned. The Elkay sink says it has their sound-deadening material on the underside, but the Blanco spec doesn't mention sound deadening so I'm not sure what it has. Both spec sheets show side view diagrams. Looks like both have a bit of an angle to the bottom, but the Blanco sink is definitely drawn so that it doesn't look as level as the Elkay. Finally, the Elkay spec sheet does say this model is Made in USA, but the Blanco spec doesn't say where it was made. I'd go with the Elkay.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

http://www.elkayusa.com/cps/rde/xbcr/elkay/01-110G_ELU(H)2816.pdf

http://www.blancoamerica.com/inter/kt/HeilerPPMKatalog/hlr-system/USA/Sinks_Bowls/BLANCOSTELLAR_Super_Single_Bowl/Spec_Page/441024.pdf

Sorry about my red herring about made in China. I didn't realize that information was on the spec sheet.

I'm not sure the way I'm plummed right now below would work out for that idea.

That is a concern. I had to work this out for myself when deciding where to put my drain line. I can shed some light on this for you.

Is your drain line in the center of the cabinet? Will you have a GD? My old GD had a radius of about 5" from the center to the tailpiece that goes down into the P-trap. The P-trap has a length of about 3". Thus, my conclusion was that I could reach the drain, without having to do anything out of the ordinary, as long as the drain was laterally within 8" (= 5" + 3") of the center of the hole in the sink. I arranged mine to meet that criterion. Unfortunately (for you), the drain hole on the Elkay I bought is about 9.5' from the center of the sink. So, if your drain line is centered on the cabinet, you wouldn't be able to reach it without doing something non-standard. (I say it that way because I am sure a plumber would know how to reach anywhere under there!)

I had to buy a new GD, and it was much larger, so I probably could have reached an extra 1" or so.