I've now gone through 2 of these in 18 months. The non-stick surface chips off easily and I did not use a metal utensil on it. It just seemed to rub off while I was cleaning. We got a few good months out of both of them, but for now I don't want to serve my children chipping teflon (or whatever it is) in their grilled cheese sandwiches. I'm sure I could send it back for another one from Cuisinart (which I did w/the first one) but I think I will try another brand.

This is probably a good product. But I didn't like it. Too messy, too small, leaks too much, too much trouble and to hard to clean. It spends it's life in a landfill somewhere. I make my hot sandwiches in the microwave.

I make a lot of grilled sandwiches so I bought this thinking it would be easier than just doing them in a frying pan. I was very disappointed.

First off, this thing is impossible to clean. The hinges in the back are very close together with seams which allow anything that seeps out (cheese mostly) to get stuck in there. There is no way to separate the top from the bottom and the space is too small to actually get in there and clean effectively so you get food stuck in there that you can't reach to clean.

Another annoyance is your sandwich won't actually be separated as you would expect, you have to actually cut them with a knife (pulling apart doesn't work as the crease isn't even deep enough to allow you to do that)

Thirdly, the sandwiches I made did not taste that great. I tried using cooking spray and even some butter to see if that was the difference, but they still tasted slightly "off". Not a bad taste, just something weird about it.

I never used it to make omelets or french toast or anything like that (just grilled sandwiches) so I can't really comment on those but I'd imagine you'd have the same problem with clean up.

There is no on and off switch, nor any temperature settings. If you want to cook something less or more well done you cannot.

I used this thing probably 5 or 6 times before I gave up and sent it back. I was hoping this would be more convenient to use but it was not at all.

The very first time you use it it will burn your sandwich. Just know that. After that it does okay but even with spraying w/pam each time it is hard to get everything out of the little nooks. Best to get a Q-tip for the tight corners & get it all clean before storing. If you put any kind of meat in it the meat will cook until warm but pull out of the sandwich when you bite it so just use soft items (like cheese) or chop the meat/ingredient before cooking. Gives a nice toasty flavor though which I like so not a bad purchase for the price. The only downside is cleaning really.

This little thing gets the job done! It's easy to use and easily wipes clean. The only difficult part to clean up is if anything drips by it's hinges, but seriously, it's nothing to be scared of. Waffle makers are more messy! I've found that simply one slice of cheese per sandwich is more than enough. I've tried the french toast recipe from the handbook it comes with. It was okay, but it came out a little eggy. Next time I'll go by what I know. The device does get hot! So thinking this is a safe alternative for children isn't a great idea. It's entire surface becomes hot and it also emits steam. I just love using this instead of dirtying my regular pans!