Toaster Brands

Innovation knows no bounds. As an example, we'll use the Hamilton Beach Toastation Toaster and Oven. To finally reconcile the dispute between traditional toaster fans and proponents of the toaster oven's versatility, Hamilton Beach has combined the two into a single unit. Priced at around $40, the toaster is accessible, intuitive to use, and a rather brilliant space saver. As with any ground-breaking technology, there are kinks. The first customers to make the foray into this new territory say that the heating elements need work. When toasting several batches, the latter toast is considerably more done than the former. And the design prohibits a broiling function, but what is your regular oven for? The shortcoming is a common one: packing too much into an already perfected device.

Toast Riposte

For those of us who still prefer the classics, the two-slice toaster model is here to stay. Brands like KitchenAid, Oster, T-Fal, and, of course, Toastmaster, have been engineering our morning routine from the sidelines for decades.

Regardless of the functionality of a toaster oven or even a combo toaster/toaster oven, the two-slice model wins out for a variety of reasons.

• Space Economy: Certainly a four-slice toaster or toaster oven may get more done in the same amount of time, but do you really need all that toast? With a standard two-slicer you've got room for your electric tea kettle, cappucino maker, and blender for smoothies. Alter all, there's more to breakfast than just toast.
• Timeless style: Who doesn't get nostalgic when a bell goes off and toast pops up in the air? The pop-up toaster merits a position next to the baine marie and French press in the Pantheon of brilliant kitchen devices that, while eclipsed by popular favor and fresh technology, will live forever in the hearts and kitchens of culinary purists.
• Hilarious Breakfast Machines: From Pee Wee Herman to Doc from Back to the Future, breakfast visionaries have been using endless displays of mastery over basic mechanics to insert bread into and press a lever on a pop up toaster. Would the drama or the humor be there with a toaster oven? Not likely.