Black & Decker Toast-It-All Plus Toaster... I'm still waiting for my toast to be done...

It's amazing the number of lessons you learn on a daily basis if you pay attention. One of the lessons I learned this Christmas is to never, ever ask a loved one for anything that has to do with my kitchen. I recently remodeled my kitchen, taking it from a dark blue to a coffee/red/cream color scheme and now I'm in the process of updating everything from plates to towels to appliances. You see, I have very particular tastes and styles... and I should know (by now) that either I'll get something completely ugly or something that is simply a piece of junk because they found a "bargain."

In any case, one of the appliances I had on my wish list was a toaster. We had a very nice one -- both attractive and functional... but it was only a two slice model. Now that Aidan is eating more normal foods, I found myself wishing I had a four slice to save time. So my parents, well-meaning, loving people, decided to pick me up a toaster as a "stocking stuffer." Keep in mind that these are the same people who have the same knives from 1977 when they got married. It wouldn't be so bad if they'd actually SHARPENED them at some time in the 30 years, but they're so dull I couldn't cut Aidan with them.

This is how the Black & Decker Toast-It-All Plus came into my possession.

Basics...

Ok, wait for it... This is a TOASTER! Wow, bet you couldn't tell that just from the title, huh? Not only is it a toaster, it's a four slice toaster!

Enough of that... This is a basic black and silver toaster. It's an auto-adjustable wide-mouth model -- meaning it will fit everything from large bagels to smaller english muffins tightly. It retails for anywhere from $25 to $40, but I received mine as a gift... so I don't know how much it cost the gift-givers. I'm sure you can find the model at Target or Wal-Mart if you're looking to purchase it. Here are some specs:

*Two crumb trays
*Bagel, Cancel and Frozen buttons
*Dial (from 1 to 6) to set the "toast" settings
*Wide-mouth
*Self-adjusting guides

Ack, take it back!!!

Let's start with the basics... The toaster is decently modern and attractive in appearance. Since it's a four slicer it's moderately large, but that's to be expected. I would have liked something in stainless steel, but the black is much easier to clean. As far as cleaning goes, it has both good and bad aspects. The outside is easier to clean than my old ss model, just wipe it down with a damp cloth and it shines (well... it's matte... not glossy... so it just looks clean in any case). However, the crumb trays are in the back -- how irritating. I'm used to my crumb tray being easy to access and the trays being in the back of the toaster just inconveniences me. In addition, I am forever forgetting to actually clean the trays since they're not right in front of me.

As far as ease of use goes, it's a toaster. It isn't hard to hit the buttons or change the dial. I like the fact that it has a "cancel" button so I can stop the toasting process without having to pull on the lever. I haven't used the "frozen" button simply because I never toast anything frozen... but the "bagel" button does absolutely nothing as far as I can tell -- my bagels come out the same way whether the button is depressed or not. The wide-mouth is definitely an improvement over my old toaster since I don't have to cram the bagels into the slots... but one thing that I do have a slight problem with is the fact that food doesn't really pop up. What do I mean? Well, with my old toaster the food would be sitting a little above the top of the machine so I could grab the food with ease. With the Black and Decker it doesn't. That means I have to stick something into the machine in order to fish my toasted food out. Usually this involves something metal since plastic would melt and I've burned my fingers trying to remove the food.

Then we come to the most important part when rating a toaster -- the actual effectiveness (ie: how well it toasts). This is where we start to struggle a bit. It never toasts things evenly (the top half of bread will be well-done but the button only mildly crunchy) and it takes FOREVER. I'll put a piece of bread/bagel/muffin in there and wait... and wait... and wait... for it to pop up (I put it on the highest setting) and when it does, it's barely done. I'll have to put it in for another cycle just to get the nice brown marks I'm looking for. I've tried messing around with the dial but if the highest setting produces something that's barely toasted... you can imagine what the lower settings will pop out. My husband turned the dial to the middle setting (he doesn't like his as done as I do), but he was surprised to find it was barely warm when it popped. If there's one nice thing to say in this department is that it does work well (well according this this toaster's standards) when you have two different items toasting at the same time. I can have a bagel in one set and a muffin in the other and they both come out fine.

Now I'm stuck with it

My old toaster stares at me sadly whenever I go into the garage. I must admit, I probably do the same... but my parents are such well-meaning and sweet people that I just can't hurt their feelings by making the Toast-It-All disappear (it's such a prominent feature on my countertop that they'd notice if it got replaced)... so now I'm stuck with a toaster that barely lives up to its name.

When it comes right down to it I want my toaster to toast (and preferably not burn me in the process) and this just doesn't cut the mustard. I don't know how much my parents paid for it, but it was probably too much (anything over $15 is too much). Looking at the price ranges, this is probably a $15 toaster with a $30 price tag. Save yourself some aggravation and buy a different toaster -- hopefully one that can toast bread evenly and quickly.

If there is one thing that could be taken from this whole toasting experience is to simply ask my parents for gift cards. That way I can choose the kitchen appliance I want without feeling guilty about the purchase. The Black & Decker Toast-It-All Plus toaster is getting a dismal Two Stars because it can actually toast a piece of bread if you give it enough time... but it's definitely getting a NO on the recommendation.

Pros:

*Nice design looks good on counter
*Four slots make breakfast easier
*Wide-mouth design means no more cramming bagels in
*Self-adjusting guides mean that smaller items (such as english muffins) are held firmly
*Easy to use
*Cancel button makes for less wear-and-tear on lever
*It will toast... eventually...

Cons:

*It will toast... eventually...
*... when it does toast, it won't be even
*The food items don't sit high enough when done to be able to remove them easily
*Crumb trays are in the back
*What exactly does the bagel button do again?