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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 30 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
50 of 52 found the following review helpful:
 Rival to the Champ, Boss to the Foreman Feb 06, 2005
By Reader Rabbit
This grill seems inspired by the smallest George Foreman grill, the "Champ." But there are some significant differences: (1) The Champ has a square grilling surface. This one's is oval, with perhaps a slightly smaller area.
(2) The Champ has an open front, with a separate little splash tray that's supposed to catch drippings. This grill has a lip surrounding most of the front, except for a 2" well that drains into an integrated drippings drawer. (3) The Champ is tilted forward to force liquids to drain out. This grill is basically level, with drip channels.
So I bought this one, which seems less messy -- especially for gooey stuff like cheese panini -- and more flexible. If you block the well with a strip of cardboard, you can even use it to cook omelettes or a kind of waffles. The only downside to the lipped front (vs. the Champ) is that you need to scoop veggies off the grill, rather than simply dragging them out the front. There is no timer or on/off switch -- you just plug/unplug it.
The upper plate floats maybe about 1" above the lower plate. If you want to press thicker panini, consider the Hamilton Beach 25450 Panini Press, available on Amazon for about 2-1/2x the price. It similarly doubles as a contact grill, but it's larger in all dimensions, with about 3"-4" of vertical float. (Its plates have pinstripe ribbing, though, so don't try using it for eggs or waffles.) Or the similar Breville SG620XL, which has flat plates that can be used for fried eggs or pancakes.
20 of 20 found the following review helpful:
 Small but effective Aug 10, 2004
By P. Sherman
This grill has a smaller surface than the smallest Foreman, but so far everything I have wanted to grill has fit (steak of any size might be a problem). Fat drainage is far better than the Foreman, with the little drawer beneath catching the drippings. I don't find this any easier to clean, though (too bad the grill parts aren't removable). Only real complaint is that the drippings drawer is not in any way attached to the grill, so when you pick it up to remove it from a cupboard to use it, or to return it to the cupboard, you have to grab it in such a way to hold the drawer in place (or go back to get the drawer separately). Can't imagine why they didn't include some slides on the side to hold the drawer up with the unit. Otherwise, a nice little grill. Certainly well worth the price.
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 Works great, but non-stick coating wearing off already May 12, 2007
By M. McAllister
I like this product, it works great, but the nonstick coating on the bottom is wearing off already, and I've only had it a few months, and have only used it 10 - 15 times.
21 of 25 found the following review helpful:
More For Less Dec 23, 2001
The unit looks larger than the George Foreman grill, weighs less (lower shipping cost), and is substantially less expensive... If you click on the button to compare with top sellers, you can see several differences.One difference is that this model has a timer. The Foreman grill doesn't. Both include the utensils and drip tray. The George Foreman grill has an optional bun warmer, this one doesn't. You don't really need a bun warmer, you can just toast the buns on the grill surface. Not to mention the price goes up for the bun warmer model. I've also read bad reviews about the bun warmer causing soggy bread, only handles one bun at a time, and getting burned trying to close it. Hamilton Beach is a well known brand name. Although I've read real bad reviews on their blenders, I've owned other products of theirs without any problems. All in all, looks like a better buy.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Wonderful Jan 09, 2008
By Tastinient
I love this little guy. Heats up fast and hot. I've owned a couple Foreman grills and they seem cheaper and quality, and don't seem to get hot enough to always give you nice grill marks on your meats. This is wonderful for singles or couples to cook up a couple burgers or a steak etc. Also makes nice panini. I've had mine over 2 years and its still running strong. What a bargain!
See all 30 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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