Toaster that can make toast

[John Coloccia]

Perceived problem: Bagels do not fit in toaster

Solution: Make toaster slot wider

New problem: Regular slices of bread lean to one side in the wider slot

Solution: Complicate toaster mechanism by adding a centering cage

New Problem: Toaster no longer hot enough to actually toast bread because of added width

Solution: Make toaster hotter

New Problem: Hotter toaster burns bagels (which fill the entire width)

Solution: Make toaster cooler

End result: Toaster moderately burns bagels and given enough time, somewhat toasts bread. Centering cage mechanism prone to failure. Toaster takes up more room on counter.

Problem solved: Bagels fit in toaster

[Roger Newby]

You're lucky to get bagels!! Here, in the midwest, we get bland bagel look-a-likes, plain, cinnamon/raisin or some other mess. I haven't had a real bagel since I visited in Kingston, NY. Get west of PA and it is bagel desolation!! At one time we had a toaster that had a bagel setting...only one side of the heat elements came on and you put the cut side towards it. Unfortunately it shot craps several years ago and I haven't found a replacement. I now use a cast iron skillet and do the Texas toast method, though it is a bit of a hassle.

[Charlie Reals]

Whooaaa Roger, I am at least 2000 miles west of Pa. and I can get excellent bagels 7 days a week. lol. I know what you mean though, and would bet you might have to go to Denver to have a chance of a good bagel. As to good toasters, forget it, one or the other, they wont do both.

[Dan Hintz]

Solution: Create toaster that moves heating elements in unison with centering cage.

End Result: Items toasted equally, regardless of thickness.

[John Coloccia]

Don't think I haven't considered dismantling my toaster to do just that. I seriously considered it last year when I picked up "mega toaster". I wish I could just find a regular, old fashioned toaster that, you know, made toast.

[Belinda Barfield]

My friend who moved south from Harford laments at least weekly that you can't get a decent bagel in Savannah. The closest real bagel is a little deli in Charleston. As for toast, I use a toaster oven or regular oven but that's because I prefer cheese toast or cinnamon toast and haven't yet figured out a way to keep the cheese attached to the toast in a regular toaster. I have been known to eat cinnamon marshmallow toast but those occasions are rare and seem to occur in the wee hours of the morning after watching some sappy movie where everyone lives happily ever after.

[Dan Hintz]

Belinda,

Lay the toaster on it's side... the cheese will only stick to one side, but it's better than none.

And cinjamon marshymallow toast? Me thinks you needs ta stay a week or two at Mike's place so I'ze can come visits. I'll deal with any fallout from his wife!

[Pat Germain]

I have an Oster which actually manages to do a good job on bagels and toast. I've been using it for years. My brother was so impressed by it when he was visiting, he bought a toaster just like mine when he got home. And it's really not expensive:

http://www.amazon.com/Oster-6382-Ins...599419&sr=8-39

My exact toaster is no longer available. This model is a little fancier than mine, but very similar. Note it's currently out of stock. Either a lot of guys are going to be in the doghouse for buying a woman a toaster for Christmas, or word got around that this thing actually works.

[Bryan Slimp]

Hey Roger - If you ever get up to Omaha check out the Bagel Bin just off of 119th and Pacific. The couple that started it moved from NY to Omaha. Hard to get more authentic than Bagels from NYC.

[Michael Weber]

The only real solution is to get a toaster to do toast and do your bagels under the broiler. Butter first (real butter), broil to preferred darkness, let cool a bit, eat

[Belinda Barfield]

Belinda,

And cinjamon marshymallow toast? Me thinks you needs ta stay a week or two at Mike's place so I'ze can come visits. I'll deal with any fallout from his wife!

LOL . . . I'll let you take that up with Mike. If he gives the okay, and you guys deal with the fallout from his wife (which I suspect will be rather severe), we'll talk about it.

[John Coloccia]

The only real solution is to get a toaster to do toast and do your bagels under the broiler. Butter first (real butter), broil to preferred darkness, let cool a bit, eat

Have you tried to buy a toaster lately? They're all built all messed up like this. They all have little buttons where none should exist. There should be a slot for toast, a handle to drop it, and a little knob to choose "Warm", "Charcoal" or anywhere in between. An elementary school student could do this for a science fair project and probably do better than the "Toastzilla" I have.

Mine is two sided (i.e. does four slices of toasts, a pair on each side). I got the two sided one because it only had two buttons. One says "Cancel", and I think the other one says "Frozen", or something like that. The rest of them looked like the instrument panel on an airplane. Mine has this feature where if you put the toast on the left side, only the left side goes down, but if you put it on the right side, BOTH sides go down. It drove my wife nuts. I had to explain to my wife, an otherwise smart women with a PhD and licenses to practice psychology in half a dozen states, how to use our toaster.

But it's a feature! It's a stupid feature. To pop the toast out prematurely, I can't just lift it. I have to hit "Cancel". Cancel, of coarse, cancels both sides, so I can't even pop out toast for my wife while letting mine go a little more. If the one I want first happens to be on the left side, I have to manually transfer the remaining toast from the right side to the left side. Why? Because if I just push it back down (the right side) both sides automatically go down. Normally this would be OK, but when the next guy wants toast, I can't just drop the toast in the left side because that side is down too and the toast alignment cage is in the way. If only the left side is down, I can drop his on the right side and push the right side down. Of course, there's only one timer so the left side will pop up sorta done (actually both sides), and then I have to transfer from right to left again to finish off the toast introduced mid-cycle.

I'd like to tell them, "I know there's empty slots but please just let the toaster finish it's cycle. You don't understand. You have no idea how much work you're causing me.", but I'd feel like an absolute idiot asking someone to wait for my toaster.

[Jason Roehl]

Hey, John, it sounds like it's a good thing that your wife has a license to practice psychology!

[John Coloccia]

LOL. There was no avoiding that, was there?

[Les Heinen]

...And is further complicated by the fact that bagels are not sliced in the middle. There is a fat side and a skinny side which will toast at different rates. Why aren't bagels sliced right down the middle so each slice is the same thickness?