bought one here a couple of years ago and the non-stick coating flaked off after about 6 months. I hope it was a fluke.
Damn! I bought this exact model a month ago from Bed Bath & Beyond for $100, using a 20% off coupon. We love it. We’ve made sandwiches, pancakes, eggs, steaks, and some other items so far.
It heats up fast and gets hot enough for any use. It has a drip tray in the back of the lower grill. If you open it flat to use the upper section as a grill, the drip tray is in the middle and will catch the drippings from both grills.
However, for this to work(and it does very well), each of the grills is tilted towards the middle. The tilt is enough that it’s a little tricky to do pancakes and eggs because they want to run off.
Other than that, it’s a quality unit that looks good and performs well. I did a lot of research before I bought it, comparing against more expensive Italian units too. Unless I bought a more expensive $475 commercial one, I don’t think I could have done better.
I got one on Woot a couple of years ago and I LOVE it. We use it for all kinds of things - as a griddle for pancakes, sausages, etc., but more often as a grill in the closed position, doing chicken breasts (they cook quickly and come out moist on the inside and browned on the outside). My family also loves to make paninis - I put out all different types of fillings and people make their own to their liking. Delicious! My only “beef” with my Griddler is that it came with 2 sets of the metal plates and I thought it was silly that they didn’t just make one set and make them reversible - griddle on one side and grill on the other. I see that now that is how it is, so even better!
That would be frustrating! I’ve had mine over 2 years and I scrub the heck out of/scrape/abuse the surface of the plates, and have had no problem with the non-stick coating, so maybe yours was a somewhat isolated problem.
I too have a Cuisenart like this. And the non-stick flaked after about three months. Of course, at that point you CANNOT use it.
“Griddle me this, Batman…”
- The Griddler
I’ll add my voice to the chorus of people who love this thing. No flaking on the plates yet, and we’ve used it pretty heavily and scrubbed pretty hard.
The only thing I’ll say that might be considered a complaint is that the top and bottom plates do not heat evenly. I’m guessing it’s because there’s so much more mass in the bottom that it holds heat better, even when you put something cold on. Because of this, I tend to turn the heat up on the top plate, to compensate.
Don’t try to do beef (burgers, steaks) on this (it doesn’t sear well), but chicken, sandwiches, veggie burgers, turkey burgers, pancakes, and even eggs come out beautifully. Recommended.
Probably inconsistent quality control in the PRC.
I have the Griddler GR-4N, which looks like it’s a step down from this model. The grill plates are kind of a pain to clean, but it’s probably the most versatile small appliance I own.
I bought one of these (not exact model here, but very similar) from Kohl’s about 4 yrs. ago with a coupon & on senior discount day (Wed.), so it ended up costing me about $100. I’ve not had a problem w/ flaking non-stick coating, and I’ve used ours a lot. I don’t often put the plates in the dishwasher, tho’, so I don’t know if that has any bearing on the flaking problem. And I’ve heard that Cuisinart is usually pretty good about replacing defective parts/units.
I wanted a set of waffle iron plates for ours, so I e-mailed Cuisinart shortly after purchase & was told they didn’t have them for my model. A few weeks later, I saw the plates on sale @ chefscatalog.com for about $50, which was almost 1/2 the normal price. So I bought them and have used them a couple of times.
Overall, I’m pretty happy w/ mine. I agree, however, that it doesn’t get quite hot enough to sear beef properly. I have mine turned up to ‘sear’ but it just doesn’t get that char like from the gas grill.
I have a slightly older model with different controls, but I love it. Didn’t think when I got it that I would use it as much as I do. Probably use mine most for paninis and quesadillas.
Plates still in fine condition after heavy use, both hand washing and dishwasher.
you can get the GR-4N 5-in-1 new at costco for $50 right now.
I own the previous version of the griddler (GR-4N) and have had 2 over the course of 4 years. Only got them because they were refurb deals of the day - far too costly at full retail. It cost about the same amount of money to replace the plates than to get another griddler, when you can get them at a deal price. I paid $59 for the first one, and $49 for the second. I’ve seen ads on TV for the new model, and have been waiting for the inevitable refurbs to go on sale. $79 is a little steep when I have one that functions just fine; epecially adding in sales tax and shipping. But when these drop another $20, I’ll seriously consider getting one, even if to store until my GR-4N breaks down.
If you don’t already have a George Foreman grill, or pannini press that you are perfectly happy with; I can heartily recommend this assuming it is better than its predecessor.
If only…too bad Dyson does not have this as a refurb. Apparently those guys are brilliant at “Refurbishing” everything from light bulbs to sesame rolls. In fact I will only buy from Dyson Refurb at woot.com So sorry —have to pass on this
Good, I’m not the only one!
[QUOTE=IslandMama, post:6, topic:453687]
That would be frustrating! I’ve had mine over 2 years and I scrub the heck out of/scrape/abuse the surface of the plates, and have had no problem with the non-stick coating, so maybe yours was a somewhat isolated problem.
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I understand your post to mean it holds up well but the fact that your mention you scrub the heck out of it, doesn’t instill a sense of “non-stick”
I’ll have to do more research and for a few bucks more from other posters for new (~$100) I think I’ll go that route if I take the plunge (return policies are very liberal with most retailers plus added warranty when new with a Discover Card)
We’ve got the lower end model via Costco, and if you keep the temps around 420F or so, you can use parchment paper to cook on to avoid clean-up of the metal plates. You’ll still get the nice grill marks on bread, plus you don’t need to use fat for frying - things cook up nice and crisp (just fold the parchment paper over - don’t have it sealed or wrapped completely around the item so steam can escape). About the only time we have to clean the plates is for pancakes (not so good on parchment paper).
I thought I got one but they sent me an ice cream maker instead. Then said “Sorry it didn’t work” But we sent you something so we get to keep your money for a month.Make sure you follow all the return rules in 2 different emails so you can return our deliberate screw-up.