Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

SEE SEPTEMBER 2016 UPDATE FOR DETAILS ABOUT THE FIRES. PLURAL. My husband eats a breakfast sandwich every morning. We'd joked about this sandwich maker, but continued to make his breakfasts the normal way (pan, toaster). I bought it for him for his birthday and he loves it. LOVES IT! He can make his breakfast while dressing in the morning and it's perfect. I was concerned about clean-up, but it's pretty easy. I just remove the inside rings and rinse/scrub them with my dish brush. Then I plunk them in my dishwater. Using a wet paper towel, I wipe off the appliance's hot plates. I use a soapy dishcloth to wash them and another wet paper towel to rinse. I either leave them to dry on their own or pass a dry towel over them. My husband prefers Bay brand English muffins (whole wheat) in the sandwich maker because these are on the large side. (8/2015 Actually, I haven't noticed a huge difference in English muffin sizes. Thomas brand's English muffins aren't cut as uniformly as the Bay brand, so sometimes the egg eclipses the muffin top. Really, if you notice that the muffin top is skimpy, just cook the egg by itself for a good minute or two and then add the muffin top. I'm just too lazy to do that.) I buy WalMart's frozen pre-cooked turkey sausage because the patties are thin and large, so they fit perfectly in the appliance. I just keep some in a zip-top bag in the 'fridge. They thaw overnight. My husband likes American cheese on his sandwiches, so I break the slices up into quarters and fit them onto the bottom English muffin in a way that the cheese doesn't extend beyond the bread. Keeping the cheese on the bread ensures that it doesn't melt onto the bottom hot plate and cause a mess. (8/2015) DON'T add extra eggs to the Breakfast Sandwich Maker. Instead of eating your sandwich, you'll be using toothpicks to pick egg out of every bit of this appliance. Your wife will curse you. Many times. If you have kids or you like breakfast sandwiches to eat as a family, I'd recommend buying the two-sandwich unit. It takes five minutes to prepare a sandwich (after a five-minute preheat), so there'd be a wait for everyone to be able to eat with the single unit. I would definitely purchase this again. Do we need it? No. Do we WANT it? Heck, yeah. Great price, very useful, and easy to clean. I'll be giving this as gifts for sure. ---August 2015 update--- We use this Breakfast Electric Sandwich Maker everyday. The nonstick coating on the ring insert isn't going to win any prizes, but it still works fine. After daily hand scrubbing, it's worn in some places. A quick shot of Pam still works fine, even though the nonstick coating is worn, so I'm keeping my original 5-star rating. We don't have a dishwasher, but the cleanup is no big deal. I scrub the cooled insert with a dish brush and soak it in a sink full of antibacterial dish water, like the rest of my dishes. The base I just clean with a Clorox disinfecting cloth. Once a week, I pay special attention to the areas where the cooking surface meets the appliance housing as well as the housing itself. I've given this twice as a gift (one single, one double). Both recipients are really pleased. I already know I'm going to give this to another family member for Christmas. My husband still is crazy about this thing. He shoots the insert with Pam, preheats the maker for four minutes while he shaves, puts his sandwich ingredients in the maker, and sets the timer for five minutes. He likes his sandwich to cool a little before eating it, so he seasons the egg, finishes getting dressed, and then has his sandwich while watching the morning news. For him to give this as a gift to his mom means he really, really likes it. UPDATE - FIRES! September 20, 2016 star rating reduction from five to one It caught on fire - twice! Both happened in the wire-wrapped cord in the back of the appliance. I kid you not. My original unit caught fire in January 2016. It was outside the warranty period, so I went to a big box store and bought another one. That's right. I bought one after the first had caught fire. I thought, "What are the chances this second breakfast sandwich maker will self-immolate?" Turns out: the chances were pretty good. Yup. The second breakfast sandwich maker sparked and smelled like burnt wiring over the weekend. I emailed Hamilton Beach (No one staffs the phone on weekends) to let them know this happened to me. Twice. It's within the warranty period, so they're replacing the appliance and they sent me a label to return Sparky. I know, I know. A *third* breakfast sandwich maker? How dumb am I? What are the chances of a third fire? I'm testing both of those questions in the name of science. And, well, the faulty thing makes good sandwiches, dammit. My report on saferproducts dot gov, the Consumer Product Safety Commission's database of product complaints: report # 20160925-A0758-2147413724 UPDATE - FIRES RESPONSE FROM HAMILTON BEACH <--note from Icemom--> They didn't find anything wrong with the unit. Huh. Singed electrical cord? Nah. No worries. Whatever, Hamilton Beach. <--from Hamilton Beach on saferproducts dot gov, report # 20160925-A0758-2147413724--> "We have taken this report and expression of dissatisfaction very seriously. We are very sorry this consumer had a negative experience with one of our products, as we try hard to please consumers who have shown their trust by bringing our products into their homes. We encourage our customers to contact us at 1.800.851.8900 in order to provide information about their experiences. This consumer did contact us and the product was replaced. We have had an opportunity to examine the product and while pleased the consumer contacted us to share their experience, no defect was found with the product."