I Smell Burnt Toast?
Written: Nov 02 '01
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Pros: stylish, looks clean, makes excellent toast (as if thats really hard)
Cons: bread doesn't pop all the way out
The Bottom Line: If you’re thinking of buying a toaster, definitely consider this brand and splurge for the four slice instead of the two it’ll be well worth the extra bread.
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| MagickCat's Full Review: DeLonghi RT400 Retro 4-Slice Toaster |
Can a toaster just get any cooler? DeLonghi makes the Sports car of bread burning machines. Not only is it shiny, and retro... its Italian too!
(But most of all its shiny)
Last Christmas, I was looking for a present for my parents, who of course have everything...Cliché I know...but unfortunately true. It always makes shopping for them worse, especially since they had put a ban on the usual stand bys of perfume, watches, pens and so on. As it was only about a week before the 25th, I was getting one of my tension headaches and rapidly loosing it. About the only thing I had seen in the weeks before that looked even half way decent, was a toaster in the Sears small appliance display. It was pretty neat looking, and the first one that I had seen with a chrome like finish but it was a two slice model so regrettably I walked away empty handed.
That was before the desperation set in.
I went back to reconsider buying the toaster, yeah I know not exactly a original gift idea but better then nothing. I couldn’t find the one I had been looking at before and it had seemed like the stock had been changed or they had sold out of my last chance...and then there it was a golden shopping moment if there ever was one. As I’m dreaming of a white Christmas played in the background, and the store lighting hit the false chrome just so, a four slice model sat in the corner with a Festive buy-me glow.
Cool looking but does it work?
With its streamline appearance and 1930’s styling the DeLonghi 4 slice retro toaster is sure to appeal to anyone who likes an art deco or dinner look. What I like about it is though it’s a rather large toaster, it doesn’t look bulky or boxy, it doesn’t have any hard edges and its dials are similar to those on a jukebox or old radio. Also with its gray false chrome finish, unlike the standard white toaster, this one is surprisingly easy to keep clean.
The 4 slice model looks basically like two 2 slice models welded together. However the larger toaster is definitely worth the extra money.
Despite buying this appliance solely on its looks, both my parents and I have been impressed with the functionality of this product... and hey after looking at the price tag I knew it had better not be a piece of nice looking junk.
The Options
On the DeLonghi Retro toaster, you have several options that aren’t usually on standard models and definitely weren’t around when the look this toaster was fashioned after was being cooked up. (Just a little bit of toaster humour there)
At first I figured hey, its just a silly toaster, like there’d be a difference between defrost, bagel and just popping a piece of bread down the slots. But there actually is and the time it takes to press the button is worth it.
Lets say you want a Bagel, now you could just drop it in and have both sides toasted and let it dry out…or you could pick the Bagel option and then have only the inner side of the toaster heat up and toast the cut part of the Bagel instead of the whole thing, which makes for a much better breakfast. Defrost also works well.
This toaster also has a cancel button, which considering how well its been running I haven’t had the opportunity to try out very often, but it does work if you’ve set the heat too high.
Another thing I like about the dials is the easy settings. With just a twist of each dial, you can be making each side’s toast different from the other, for instance one person’s toast on the right side can be almost black while the other person’s toast on the left is just barely brown, while they are both being made at the same time. We’ve had other toasters with this option, where the difference on each side is barely noticeable, so what can I say, I’m easily amused. The settings which go from 1-6 and are perfect for finicky toast eaters, like myself who only like their bread lightly killed or for those who like to eat scorched earth with extra carcinogen.
Do the slots fit different types of Bread?
Who hasn’t had a toaster that wont take anything but wonder bread? Luckily the DeLonghi toasters seem to take thick or uneven slices without problem or extra burning. All of the four slots are large enough to fit a half a Bagel in, so slabs of unnaturally large bread that you’ve cut without your contacts in won’t be a problem. From French loaf to half a bun, it takes them all without having the bread become jammed inside.
Bread Crumbs
It seems DeLonghi even thought of how to deal with this crumbly problem. Each side of the toaster has a small pull out tray, which is supposed to collect the crumbs, and it does do what it’s supposed to but not really well. Despite this idea, loads of bread crumbs remain inside the toaster even once its cleaned. So you still have to shake the damned thing over the garbage can once in a while... so much for innovation.
My Biggest Complaint, One Major Fault
I really like this toaster and the design, but it does have one major fault that has resulted in many almost burnt fingers. Whenever the toast is done, it doesn’t pop up out of the toaster; instead it just pops up half way and remains pretty much inside of the slot. Its as if the Toaster is saying "yeah I did my job, now you go get it." So you have to pull the lever up as much as possible to make the bread come up and then put your fingers a little bit inside the toaster and pull it out. I’m always worried that something bad could happen while doing this, resulting in crispy fingers. It’s not like shoving a fork inside the toaster, but its still doesn’t seem to overly safe.
No more burnt toast with this Toaster
Unless you like it that way, that is. So far after a year I’ve been very pleased with this purchase and it works like the first day I bought it. Even though it was a little more then I thought I’d ever pay for a toaster, it was well worth the money and I can see that unlike the cheaper toasters we’ve bought this one should last a long time. Quality over quantity. However it does have the problem of the toast not popping all the way out, it doesn’t become stuck but its some sort of design problem I think. And I would have liked to see this toaster come in actual Chrome or metal, not plastic.
I look forward to buying from DeLonghi in the future. If one thing is for sure those Italians sure make good toasters.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150.00 Can
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Epinions.com ID:
MagickCat
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Location: Canada
Reviews written: 44
Trusted by: 10 members
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