This toaster.
It’s an old Sunbeam, and it has two settings: raw and burnt. Also: it won’t allow the toasting of bulky items such as bagels, unless you cut that bagel into thirds, which Bossy does nearly every morning.
But she loves this toaster even though her family pokes incessant fun of her and sometimes something worse than fun when the toaster desecrates yet another frozen waffle minutes before the school bus.
Bossy loves it because it is simple, and because it has more chrome than a Chevy Bel Air, and because it was given to her by a favorite relative, now deceased, and we all know how Bossy covets her old timers.
And speaking of old timers, this toaster died over the Thanksgiving holiday, after a rigorous cleaning.
Sunbeam Radiant Control Toaster, 1950-2008.
Can anyone suggest a new toaster? Bossy’s husband favors the Toaster Oven, but Bossy isn’t so sure because her father has one, and a person could grow out a bad highlight job waiting for one piece of toast.
MariaV says
December 1, 2008 at 8:04 amRIP Sunbeam Radiant Control Toaster!
If you’re thinking of using the toaster oven more often than not to make toast, I vote for just getting a toaster. The oven doesn’t toast as well as a regular toaster IMHO.
This is going to sound cliche, but toaster aren’t made the way they used to be made. I wouldn’t spend a lot of money on it. I had an expensive toaster that lasted about a year. My current toaster was under $30 and I’ve had it for five years.
GreatAunt says
December 1, 2008 at 8:47 amI would avoid the toaster over. They’re bulky (so they take up more counter space) and I don’t think they toast well. They may be good for warming frozen items, but not so great for toasting bread or bagels. I agree with MariaV. Get yourself an inexpensive toaster… but be sure to get one with wide slots to accommodate your bagels.
acher says
December 1, 2008 at 9:26 amI had a $10 toaster that I bought at Walgreens my first week of college until I got married a few years ago. That toaster survived almost 10 years… I am now IN LOVE with my Cuisinart. I have the two slot model, but it also comes in 4.
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13078807&RN=70&
Liz says
December 1, 2008 at 10:24 amI have the four slot model of the Cuisinart but the handle broke off one side so we can’t use it… unless someone sticks it back in bravely facing the possibility of electrocution versus the need for a frozen waffle.
janet says
December 1, 2008 at 10:54 amI have a toaster oven, mounted under the cabinet so it doesn’t take up counter space. I love it, cuz I bake a potato or broil buttered pita bread, or whatever – and the toast is okay. If you loved that toaster, I bet you could get the exact same one new on eBay for cheap.
Kelly at The Glass Dragonfly says
December 1, 2008 at 11:30 amI use the toaster oven….for ALL kinds of things! I broil my buttered toast, english muffins, and bagels. They taste better that way. I haven’t owned a regular toaster in 15 years and I don’t miss it.
David says
December 1, 2008 at 11:41 amI’m also a toaster oven fan. Given limited counter space, it provides multiple options, allows you to bake something easily without having to use the regular oven, and toasts just fine for me. Now if I could just remember what brand it was.
Little Miss Sunshine State says
December 1, 2008 at 12:10 pmI have the 2-slot Cuisinart.
Bagel Setting! Defrost Setting! Reheat Setting!
Every Eggo and Bagel has been perfect for 2 years.
Julie says
December 1, 2008 at 12:49 pmYES! I have the Breville toaster, less $$ than the Cuisinarts etc and we love it. Wide slots, stainless all over, number control and the sweetest lil ding you ever heard, oh and the plug, the PLUG it has this round thingy built in for easy plugging/unplugging. I also have the Breville water kettle and use it numerous times a day, same sweet dig, stainless, and plug. I’m buying another one for my daughter for Christmas!
Hope Bossy’s Daddy feels better soon
Lisa says
December 1, 2008 at 1:31 pmMy Sunbeam died last year. It must have been 50 years old. I remember having it as a child. My Dad had replaced the cord once before and I am sure that is all that is needed again except I don’t know how to send a toaster up to heaven. So there it sits still beautiful and shiny. I use my toaster oven now instead and sometimes the broiler in my oven.
Tracy Lynn says
December 1, 2008 at 1:34 pmOK, I have to say that I love my toaster oven. Not only does it make excellent toast out of bread products of any size, I can also broil steak in it.
~annie says
December 1, 2008 at 1:34 pmI would probably go for a regular toaster, not toaster oven. But what do I really know? I’m still using my 1958 Toastmaster… To toast bagels I halve them and squash the slices flat enough to fit into the slot. They usually toast before they have time to expand back to their regular size. Unless I somehow miscalculate. Then I use a chopstick to fish them out before they ignite.
Momo Fali says
December 1, 2008 at 1:51 pmMy toaster is a Cuisinart that some friends bought me for our wedding. Not A friend, SOME friends, because it cost about $100…and that was in 1997. I love it though. It has wide slots and a reheat button that I use frequently.
LeahBear says
December 1, 2008 at 2:41 pmYeah, but if you want a toasted bagel with lovely melty CHEESE on it, you need a toaster oven. And also, if you want to heat up a leftover slice of pizza without heating up a whole oven or making it soggy and gross in the microwave. I vote for toaster ovens!
pam says
December 1, 2008 at 2:49 pmI’m not a ‘consumer’ type meaning I don’t buy a lot of stuff but this toaster, this toaster – ooh la la:
http://www.t-falusa.com/All+Products/Cooking+Appliances/Toasters/Products/Avanté+Classic+2+Slice+Toaster+White/Avanté+Classic+Toaster.htm
in chrome
Amy says
December 1, 2008 at 3:09 pmI have a Hamilton Beach Toaststation, in red, and I love it. It has a 2-slice toaster in the top, and is a toaster oven in the bottom, and takes up a minimal amount of counter space. It’s a great 2-in-1 kitchen appliance.
Tammy says
December 1, 2008 at 4:12 pmIf you like muffin type breakfast sandwiches, here you go: http://www.amazon.com/Back-Basics-TEM500-Muffin-2-Slice/dp/B000B18P96 – this thing works like a charm and you can use light cheese and sausage. YUM.
Stephanie says
December 1, 2008 at 5:48 pmDON’T get a toaster over. They take FOREVER! Go for an actual toaster. I’d recommend one, but the Husband won’t let me buy one since I picked out the toaster oven in the first place.
Kim says
December 1, 2008 at 6:03 pmIs this that toaster that lowers the toast itself and comes back up when its incinerated??? I had one of these for about 40 years and was so sad when the last appliance repair place in town closed cause I had to say goodbye to my toaster bling. I had to give up my ancient waffle iron, too. so sad
Cindy Z says
December 1, 2008 at 6:23 pmMy niece just set my 25 year old toaster attached to my cabnets on fire recently. I am now doing without a toaster for awhile. I think 25 years was a good run, but my cabnets won’t be the same.
Mindy says
December 1, 2008 at 7:27 pmWhat a trip down memory lane! I grew up with that same toaster and tried to find its descendant after I left home. No luck. When it had toasted it’s last slices, my mom waited until after it had been buried to tell me the bad news. Twenty-five years later, I’m still looking for a toaster that produces toast perfection.
anne marie in philly says
December 1, 2008 at 8:39 pmI have a $12 rival that I purchased at my local redner’s warehouse market. it does a great job.
now if it were only a scootch wider for fat bagels…
Cactus Petunia says
December 2, 2008 at 2:31 amI’ve had a Cuisinart 2-slot toaster for about 10 years, and it’s about as simple as you can get…it’s got a smooth, rounded shape very similar to my beloved old Toastmaster with the fabric cord that literally burned up and almost took the house with it. The Cuisinart site says it “has all the technology of the nineties.” Very last century!
MemeGRL says
December 2, 2008 at 4:40 amI am, in general, not a fan of toaster ovens, having started more than one fire in them in my lifetime.
However, we have a Cuisinart one that rocks. Toasts better than any other toaster oven I’ve used, and also is the only broiler in my house so I actually use it for cooking.
I like a two-slot toaster too, but haven’t used ours since we got this toaster oven. Which surprises me quite a bit now that I think of it, because I am an old-school toaster fan.
marn says
December 2, 2008 at 4:43 pmFunctioning, old toasters (especially ToastMasters) work best…perfect toast every time. Get yours repaired.
amyp says
December 6, 2008 at 12:51 pmI have the Cuisinart 4-slice toaster. My advice: save your money on this one. Our old cheap toaster may not have had a reheat button, but it toasted consistently on one slice of bread. When I make toast, I have to pop it up half-way through cooking to turn the slices around. I’d have a cheap toaster any day.
Anna says
December 12, 2008 at 10:43 amMy Torts law prof said on the very first day of class, “if you want to experience tort law first hand, buy a toaster oven”.
As far as toaster advice, my husband and I have had horrible luck. No matter how much we spend or research, they all expire within a couple of years; and we are not even regular toast eaters. /sigh
wrh says
December 13, 2008 at 9:58 amCuisinart classic style. Chrome finish.
Beth in Seatle says
January 24, 2009 at 9:25 pmdid you get a new toaster yet? toaster oven? my husband is a toast lover – we spent a few years going through cheap toasters until we bought a Dualit (from Williams Sonoma) (I’m prbably spelling everything wrong and am too lazy to check facts) Anyway – it has been a trooper – and has miles of the lovely chrome.