Butcher block. You could use the standard maple or go for something a bit more exotic such as walnut ($$$). The nice thing is that the breakfast bar will likely get a lot of action - eating, homework, bill paying, socializing, etc. Butcher block can be sanded down and oiled for years and years to come so rings for glasses are not a major headache.

all granite slabs vary, but check to see if a piece of same kind of venetian gold granite might work if it were in a honed finish (a matte finish rather than shiny)....this might conceal the differences enough and still flow.