Help me choose a waffle/sandwich maker?

April 7, 2009 7:27 PM

I'm looking for a good waffle/sandwich maker. But according to various Amazon reviews of various products, they all suck? Oh, come on!! Hive mind, please recommend a good waffle/sandwich maker? Or separate machines, if it comes to that.

Regarding the kind of sandwich press: I don't know if I prefer panini, or the kind of sandwich where a square piece of bread gets pressed into two triangles. The end product is similar to me - pressed bread, melty insides, right? But feel free to correct my barbaric ways.

posted by Xere to food & drink (15 comments total)

So far, I've been looking at this, but it seems that more people dislike rather than like it.
posted by Xere at 7:34 PM on April 7

In my opinion there isn't a great waffle maker out there. Having said that we use a Cuisinart that has different grills for different purposes. It does work very well for the most part. It makes great waffles but they are thin and I prefer thicker. But it does steaks and meat in a great manner.
posted by JayRwv at 8:09 PM on April 7

I love my George Foreman Grill, but that may not be the answer you're looking for.
posted by alms at 8:15 PM on April 7

I think separate devices is the way to go. I had this Black and Decker one, which has pretty good reviews, but I hated using it. I had one occasion when the reversible plates slipped out after it had heated up, so after that I was very jumpy while using it for fear that the hot plate would fall onto my hand while I was getting food in or out.

I've got this now, heats up just enough to melt cheese, but not so much that the sandwich burns if I forget about it while answering Askme questions. Still no luck on the perfect waffle maker though.
posted by saffry at 8:19 PM on April 7

I originally read that as wife/sandwich maker, and I was confused as to why you were looking on Amazon.

On topic, I also use my Foreman grill for sandwiches and it is good. It might not close enough if you're making a thin sandwich to get it good and pressed tho.
posted by rux at 8:40 PM on April 7 [1 favorite]

I have a wonderful Waring Pro Waffle Maker. It's absolutely perfect as long as you season it correctly (just brush oil on it). Its a little hard to clean, but vacuuming it works well.

I also have this sandwich maker, which does what its supposed to do. This style of sandwich maker does waste bread where it seals the sandwich, but if you like the sandwich sealed, its the way to go.
posted by miscbuff at 10:00 PM on April 7

My biggest beef with waffle makers is cleaning the suckers. Think of this while you are searching. I have one similar to your link, and never use it because it is such a bitch to clean.
I also have one like this which is a considerably easier to clean, but still not super. I use it several times a week. My only gripe is it doesn't seal the edges like the triangle ones, but I am less likely to burn my tongue!
posted by bystander at 2:50 AM on April 8

I have one of these. It's similar to the one bystander mentions. It's also very useful for grilling meat. Some of the Amazon customers have complained about reliability, but mine's been fine for three years or so.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 3:01 AM on April 8

We love our DeLonghi panini grill and - like another poster - our Waring Pro Waffle Maker! Mmmmmmmmmm I might make paninis for lunch! :)
posted by swilkerson at 5:45 AM on April 8

We have the commercial version of the Waring Pro Waffle Maker & have used it just about every other day for 2+ years. :) My only complaint is that it doesn't always beep when the waffle is done. As long as there's enough oil in the batter or you spray it with Pam before you fill it, things don't stick.
posted by belladonna at 6:16 AM on April 8

I have a DeLonghi combination waffle iron/sandwich press and I love it. I absolutely love it. It seems to be hard to find now and other people don't seem to like it as much as I do. I have honestly had no problems with it. I got mine on sale for around $30.
posted by cooker girl at 6:39 AM on April 8

Buy an antique. I inherited my parents' Sunbeam CG Waffle Iron waffle maker. It's heavy, dangerous (the outside gets hot as hell) and it makes great waffles and pressed sandwiches.
posted by donpardo at 6:52 AM on April 8

For waffles I would recommend the Black and Decker mentioned by saffry. It does have safety issues (as Mad Men fans learned last season). It makes the non-Belgian thin style waffles. The plates are reversible for sandwiches, but I find it does not open wide enough for sandwiches.
posted by stchang at 9:00 AM on April 8

So, about two years ago my father came across a waffle iron at Costco and decided he had to have it. Since then, every Sunday at 10 AM has been waffletime (and a time for much rejoicing).

We've gone through two of the Waring Pro waffle makers like the one miscbuff links to... each just stopped heating up within 6 months (keeping in mind that the frequency of waffling in our house is much higher than most, this may or may not be an issue in your household.) He's been using a similar, but sturdier, Cuisinart model for about a year now. It's more expensive, but considering that it's now outlasted two of the Waring Pro models, the difference seems to be pretty minimal.
posted by myohmy at 8:09 PM on April 8

Correction: Kitchenaid, not Cuisinart.
posted by myohmy at 7:07 PM on April 9