Wood floors in kitchens have gained popularity in the last few years. Especially when there are wood floors throughout the rest of the home. Personally, I do prefer it.
Small spills are not a problem, but of you did have the dishwasher malfunction, you would have to replace boards. There is no difference between solid wood floors and engineered floors in terms of replacing select boards because they both have tongue and groove installation. I also prefer engineered floors to solid because they are more stable. When selecting engineered, the more layers the better and the top layer should be thick enough so refinishing years down the road is possible.
I have found waterborne finishes on flooring to be equally durable as poly.

Thanks for your help!