I love mine. It's big, so be aware if you have little counter space. I've got five in my family, and this grill is big enough for bacon on one side, pancakes on the other. It's easy to clean. I've had mine over a year, and have had no problems with the finish. Yes, it does have a hot spot on the left side, but I use it to my advantage. I've had some restaurant experience, and our flat tops were almost always at different temps. Something cooking too fast? Move it over! Put those sausages on the right, as it's a little cooler, and they take longer to cook.I have had one problem: my probe thermostat went. I called the company, they took the date code off the unit (it was a gift from my Amazon wish list!), and sent a new probe out. The warranty was 30 months! Nice.
I say, if you're a heavy duty griddle user like I am, this is the TANK of the griddle world!
It's somewhat heavy.It's big and hard to store.these small issues are totally acceptable given the fact that this griddle cooks great and should last FOREVER.Treat it right, and it will treat you right.If you're looking to cook a big meal on a working, long lasting piece of equipment, this is the grill to get.my family thinks I am now the best breakfast cook.I should have purchased this a long time ago.
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My 32 year old Miracle Maid griddle finally gave up the ghost.I tried my daughter-in-law's griddle but it was a mess.The pancakes stuck and it was a bear to clean.I went to the Cook's Illustrated site and found this one rated highest among the ones they tested.Well, I am so pleased with it.It cooks at an even temperature, it is easy to wash and it is large enough to cook eggs, bacon and pancakes all at once.It is a little pricy but so worth the cost.I recommend this product.
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I purchased this griddle a few weeks ago so that I could finally sit down with my family to for Sunday pancake breakfast, and it delivered I can easily cook eight pancakes at once with flipping room to spare. But the size is only part of the story. The non-stick performance had me a little worried out of the box, as there were some "lines" on the surface that might have been manufacturing issues, but they seemed to just be cosmetic after some cooking they've faded, and the non-stick performance (new) is simply outstanding easily matches my good All Clad cookware for pure non-stick goodness and simple cleanup.
Another thing I really appreciate is how even the cooking temperature is. There are simply no hot spots on this thing, and if I really, really want to be picky, the temperature might fall off a bit at the very edge, but cooking eight pancakes gives me a great visual indicator from edge-to-edge, front-to-back, and there were simply no pancakes that had appreciably different cooking from each other. I both amazed and pleased.
The size makes this something that can be tricky to store we have an entire double-width cabinet dedicated to just this and my big electric skillet, and we have to tilt the griddle a bit to make it all fit. It's too deep to fit if you turn it perpendicular the cabinet door won't close all the way. So, be prepared to work a bit to find a place to store it.
But as a workhorse for a serious breakfast cook, I think this guy's a winner.
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UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE January 2011
After living with this griddle for quite some time, I wanted to mention something I've run into. I still think this is a great griddle the even heating across the board is amazing, the temperature control is great. But and this is because I add a very thin coat of oil for browning my pancakes the non-stick surface gets a sticky residue that is T-O-U-G-H to clean off. I've tried just about everything, and so far, a paste of baking soda and water and plenty of elbow grease gets off most of it, but not all. I'd still recommend this griddle strongly, and the non-stick surface is holding up wonderfully even after many uses, but it's something to be aware of. I am sticking with the 5-star rating, however, as this griddle is still a winner.
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UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE January 2012
Wow another year! This grill is STILL going strong, and making 8 big pancakes at a time many weekends. I've also used it for mass cooking grilled cheese sandwiches, yum. I have NOT used it for, say, grilling burgers, but as a pancake maker it continues strong going into its third year. I've just learned to live with the weird residue, and I guess the good news is: it's not building up and building up, but rather just got established early on and seems to stay about the same.
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UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE January 2013
Yes! Today is our annual family New Year's Pancake breakfast, and so of course I thought I would update my review: YES it's still our favorite breakfast making monster machine. I use it pretty much exclusively to make pancakes and toast sandwiches, and it continues to excel. I have never quite learned the secret to remove the "build-up" of oil on the non-stick surface, but it doesn't seem to affect the cooking ability, and clearly it's held up after three full years of use, and we are now starting year 4. It's still a 5-star griddle in my book. The ONLY wear I've noticed is that the plug socket has darkened over time from the heat. The non-stick continue to work perfectly. Recommended.
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The packaging is kind of what I had hoped for a thick plain brown corrugated heavy-duty box, clearly indicative of a more "industrial" grade product.I am so tired of buying China-made products in glitzy glossy boxes that simply fail to perform.Unfortunately, this American-made product disappointed right out of the box.The casting on the bottom side was rough.Bits of metal flaked off, and some sharp shards landed on my countertop.There are still sharp unfinished areas on the bottom that could have easily been buffed or ground out at the factory. Where the handle is attached to the underside of the cooking surface, the welds show through on the coated cooking surface and the non-stick surface is missing over top of these weld points.The splatter guard, which is an excellent idea and another reason I chose to spend the extra bucks for this unit, is so flimsy and poorly made that it is an embarrassment.Clearly an afterthought, the splatter guard "attachment" methodology is ill-conceived as it requires that you slide the sharp-edged metal across the coated cooking surface --funny, since the instructions carry the usual warnings not to use metal cooking utensils.Inserting the temperature controller was also a bit of a challenge, as the fit was way too tight.Ultimately I was able to insert the unit far enough to obtain electrical connection, but with great effort. At this point, I snapped a few photos and gave very serious consideration to returning the unit.Still, I am an American through and through, and wanted this unit to be great.So I seasoned the surface with a little oil, warmed the cooktop, then let it cool.A few hours later I turned the unit back on, re-oiled it again, and mixed up a batch of pancakes.Finally, some good news.The heating is uniform, relatively quick, and the temperature will go higher than many non-commercial department-store variety griddles.The surface is reasonably flat, and the non-stick coating worked pretty well.I cracked a couple of eggs directly onto the cooking surface, and they didn't run or puddle.Bottom line, if you want a griddle that gets really hot, that heats pretty uniformly, and that is made in the U.S.A., go for it... just be prepared for some possible trade-offs.The "fit and finish" is sub-par.The casting is rough and uneven.It would appear that removing and reattaching the splatter guard will soon scratch the non-stick surface. You may well be disappointed at the overall "gestalt" of the thing.Maybe the one I got was made on a Monday???Save 29% Off
