Toaster: Bagel win!

 So, I've been asked what I think about my toaster. We've had this toaster for close to 3 years, probably. It's from Black & Decker, bought at Bed, Bath and Beyond. When Mark and I got married, we had this old, decrepit toaster. It had two settings, burnt and raw. We either registered and got one for a wedding present, or bought it with the money we received. Either way, we have a new toaster.

It's been well used and loved on, and so far, has held up pretty well. The top is kind of stained, as you can see in the picture, between the slots.

 I like that the slots are wide (our first one wasn't) enough for bagels. It's also not too tall so Toaster Strudels get lost. I'm so paranoid sticking a knife or a fork into a toaster to get a lost piece of pastry out. I keep seeing big flashes of light and shaking and hair standing 3 feet out.

You can see in the bottom of the toaster that there's a lot of crumbs. According to "them" there is a removable crumb tray, but I cannot figure out how it opens. I try every time I use the toaster in hopes that I missed it the last time. And every time, I feel defeated and stupid that I can't figure it out.

It has a handy dial to turn to pick the setting, it mainly stays on 2 or 2 1/2. I like that it doesn't "click" into place, so if you want 2 and a tiny bit, then you can get 2 and a tiny bit. The sides and front don't get scortching hot, like other toasters we've had. Sure, the top gets hot, but that is expected. The sides stay cool, that's a plus because so many times, AFTER the toast is done, I realize, "oops, I left the bag right next to it!"
You can see the row of four buttons on the side. the top is the cancel button--so no more feeling like you're forcing the toaster to give up it's treasure. The second is the bagel button. We'll come back to it. Third button is <s>frozen</s> defrost and fourth is reheat. We use the defrost button for toaster strudels. I'm not sure what the difference is between defrosting and toasting, or defrosting long enough that it toasts. But it works well for those yummy pastries. I've never used the reheat button. Again, not sure the difference betweeen toast and heat, or reheat and toast. Maybe the temperature setting is different?
Ok, back to the bagel button. The bagel button is my favorite button. It was pretty much the selling point we wanted this toaster. When the button is lit, like this picture *checks picture* yeah, like the picture, the outside coils turn off. So theoretically, if you've placed the bagel in the right way, it will only toast the inside of the bagel. The outside crust is already chewy enough, there's no need to toast the snot out of it. But, at the same time, it needs to stay in long enough to get the inside...toasty. Heh.


So, it's a good toaster for our little family. Since it's only two slots, it would not be good for making everyone's toast at the same time. Some mornings when I'm making breakfast for me and Brendon, I do wish for more slots. But that's only for convenience. We wouldn't have any room for a bigger toaster. Now, if only I could figure out how to open the crumb catcher instead of the dump and shake routine...