West Bend TEM4500W Egg & Muffin Toaster, 4-Slice, Black (Discontinued

...although I tend to be wary of anything that claims to be able to do TOO many things, especially at the same time. Well, if I have to eat my words, I'll check the toaster; it probably has a setting to cook them for me...Right out of the box, this is a good-looking, if unusually-shaped appliance. Be sure that you have plenty of counter space, because this puppy is pretty big. The control panel is simple, with three button choices: toast, eggs/toast, and eggs. There is a bagel selector for each side, so that if you're doing breakfast sandwiches (or just toasting), doing English muffins on one side and a bagel on the other, the toaster handles it. The one thing that requires attention are the two darkness controls. They are fairly precise, with noticeable differences in color with even small changes. You can, with a little practice, dial in the perfect amount of toasting for you. A caveat: the dials seem to be counterintuitive. You turn the dials to the LEFT to increase the toasting, and to the RIGHT for lighter toast. You must also spend a little time getting to know the settings if you use different breads. Your perfect setting for white bread will be different from that for english muffins, bagels, or whole wheat toast, for instance. When you hit the button for bagels, only one side is toasted, which prevents those "toasted on the inside/burned on the outside" bagels that I hate. Be careful, though; there are small icons on the chrome strip between the slots to tell you which side faces which direction, so that the proper side is toasted.Now, about function. The toast (or english muffins, or bagels) comes out the same, batch after batch. If it's not done right, it's because you didn't dial it in correctly; not because the toaster isn't working. The eggs? Perfect, every time. and by just altering the amount of water you put in the heating tray on the right, you can make eggs that range from very soft, to hard. Note: use the measuring cup provided. The lines showing the amount of water needed are very accurate, and just a little over or under will definitely change the hardness of the egg. Just be sure that you grease the egg cups before putting the eggs is, so they don't stick. I haven't used the meat warmer, but have no reason to believe that it wouldn't work as well--although I think that grease might be a bit of a problem with cleanup. Also, if you're putting cheese on your breakfast sandwiches, just lay a slice on the egg when you put the egg on the muffin--the egg will be hot enough to melt the cheese perfectly. I haven't made hardboiled eggs yet, but again, given the competence demonstrated by this toaster, I have no doubt that they will be perfectly cooked when I try them. Oh--and when you're making toast, bagels, or muffins at the same time as the eggs, the toaster holds the toast and pops it up when the eggs are done. For short slices of bread or small english muffins, the levers can be manually raised after toasting is done so that you don't have to dig around in the slots to pull the slice out. Is this a great machine, or what?Cleanup...the chrome and the black matte surface clean up with a damp cloth, or for tough stains, some 409 on a paper towel. The crumb tray in back is easy to get to and clean out. The egg tray has three sections that all come out and can be easily cleaned, and the heating element is chrome, which cleans up beautifully--just don't use anything abrasive on it. If you have hard water, as I do, you'll find dried miinerals on the chrome heating element after you're done. Just let it cool down most of the way, then pour in enough white vinegar to cover the element and let it sit for a few minutes. Soak up the vinegar and wipe out with paper towels, and it's perfect again. (Don't be tempted to clean the element with any cleansers or soap; any residue left behind on the heating tray will be on your next batch of eggs...)Summary: I am not easily impressed, especially by appliances which claim to be able to do too many things. But this toaster does all of the things it claims to be able to do, and it does them well. The learning curve for your preferences is not steep at all, and within two or three tries, you'll have all the things exactly as you like them. After that, trying new breads, you'll be able to guesstimate the toasting settings pretty easily. The sole complaint I have with this machine (and it is a small one, and not a deal breaker) is that, while the slots are wide enough to accommodate even thick slices of toast or bagels, They aren't really long enough to hold the widest slices of the cloche breads I bake...but then, there aren't many toasters that will accommodate 9-10" wide slices of bread. Aesthetically, this is a big, impressive-looking appliance, with a nice matte black/chrome exterior, with a rounded, art deco sort of look. It looks a bit odd at first, with the egg cooker sticking out of the side, but make the family a few perfect breakfast sandwiches, and they won't think it looks odd any more.

I rarely am tempted to buy single function kitchen appliances, due to limited counter space. I'd been thinking about purchasing one of these for awhile, and before a recent week-long motel stay I decided to buy one and take it with me on the trip.Once settled in the motel which had a small fridge, I picked up some eggs, whole wheat english muffins, sliced cheddar cheese and a package of sliced ham from the deli. With a little experimenting, I was enjoying a delicious, lower cal version of Egg McMuffins for breakfast every morning. Instead of using a whole egg, I substituted two egg whites in each little poaching pan and added a little extra steaming water to cook the thicker egg patty long enough to get it cooked all the way through. I saved money and calories by making these myself in the motel, and so easy to do!Granted, this wouldn't be easy to lug on a plane, but for a driving trip it's lightweight and easy to carry in and out of motel rooms. I'll keep using this at home now, for toasting bread as well as making egg sandwiches. The added bonus -- this also makes up to 8 perfectly done hard boiled eggs in just a few minutes with steam instead of boiling water, and for the three batches I've made have, the shells have come off very easily.This great gadget has earned a permanent spot on my kitchen counter!************* Edit: February 18, 2013. ***************After three months of use, I'm even more in love with this thing than I was at first.1. I've used this every day, sometimes twice a day, to make egg sandwiches or just to make toast. It performs flawlessly.2. Shortly after I bought this in November, one of the egg poaching pans began losing its non-stick coating, coming off in blisters. A month later, the other one did the same thing. It wasn't a big deal, I just wiped it out with a scrubby pad and rinsed it off to remove any flakes of coating. After the second pan started doing the same thing, I called West Bend and explained the issue -- they sent me two free new pans without question, and I have had no trouble with the non stick coating on the new ones, so it must have been a bad batch. Be sure to use a good-quality non stick spray, butter, or oil in the pan before you drop in the eggs.3. I see some of the reviews complain that the toast doesn't pop up high enough and they have to use a fork to fish it out. The levers on this toaster are designed so that you can actually lift the lever up about an inch from it's "popped up" position to raise smaller muffins or bread above the toaster for easy retrieval.4. Other reviews have complained that the toaster doesn't toast the bread very well on the darkest setting. The twist knobs to control the darkness of the toast are backwards from what you would expect. To toast darker, turn the knob all the way to the left. Then it will work just fine. I like my english muffins extra toasted, so I just push the defrost button when I start the eggs and (unfrozen) muffins, which will run the toaster setting a little longer.5. The reservoir that you pour the water into to steam the eggs can get a little grungy after a few uses. For easy cleanup, pour a little water into the reservoir and push the "egg" button to start steaming the water. Before it has evaporated, push the cancel button and let the water cool off. Then simply wipe it out with a sponge -- all the grunge loosens off when the water heats up -- no scrubbing necessary.6. This thing makes the greatest hardboiled eggs ever. The shells peel right off and the yolks don't have that weird green shade that they do if you boil them on the stove too long. A tip to keep the occasional egg from cracking while you are using the hardboiled egg steamer function -- put all of the eggs with the pointed end up in the steamer rack. Once I figured that out, I haven't had a single one crack during the cooking process, and there's no need to use the little puncturing needle that's included to keep the shells from cracking.I like this toaster so much that I bought a second one as a backup in case this one ever stops working. If you like Egg McMuffins, you will love this toaster as much as I do.

For a long time, I was using an overpriced toaster that worked fine and looked nice, but could only toast 2 slices of bread. This toaster was less money and does 4 slices, plus eggs. It is pretty big, so make sure you have room on your counter for it. The variable toasting is great for thick slices of bread and even has a bagel function which works great. The mini pans (which need to be greased first) can make poached eggs along with your english muffins or toast. The unit can also steam 8 eggs for soft, medium or hard boiled eggs. There is also a piece for warming cooked meats, but I do not use this at all, as I don't eat processed meat. Don't leave the eggs on the steamer once the timer goes off, as they can get overdone.The toaster comes with a small plastic cup for measuring the correct amount of water for the eggs and also has a sharp spike for piercing eggs to be steamed. I have tried steaming the eggs with and without pricking them, and I did not notice much of a difference. This method of making soft boiled eggs has definitely been easier for me than the stovetop method.There are 2 small "drawers" in the back of the toaster for catching crumbs. The part where the eggs cook can become stained. I tried descaling it, but the stain still remained. I have found that leaving apple cider vinegar to sit for 10-20 minutes, then wiping it out works to make the cook part look new again. The parts on the side do not lock together and fit a bit sloppily, but they don't fall off.Overall, I am very happy with this toaster. I have owned it for several months and had no problems with it. I should note, that I do not use it daily, maybe once a week. I think a digital display would have been nicer, but for the price, this does quite a bit and is worth it.