Definitely pendant. Pendant lighting adds a lot of character and can accent the space very well. But usually use a lower wattage bulb because you don't want lights blasting in your eyes if it is an exposed bulb :) Unless you get pendants that only direct the light downward.

Here are examples of exposed and downward lighting that have recessed lighting around them.

We wanted recessed, but the floor joists for the above floor would not allow them to be centered over the island.

There are LED recessed lights that are half an inch thick that our company uses all the time that can be recessed and installed over joists. These are available at Home Depot as well if you are still interested in doing recessed you can take a look at them.

I'd do pendant lights--they are much more attractive.

Thank you, everyone! I am back to thinking pendent lighting. They are very pretty and there are so many options!