Having all the advantages of a Foreman Grill PLUS the option to do melts and other gorgeously less healthy snacks was like a dream come true and so I bought this Grill & Melt to replace my Foreman Junior which had become a bit unsightly after almost 6 years of use. In addition to the "melt" function this little machine also promises vertical storage and a place for the power cord - two brilliant innovations as any owner of one of the great but bulky Foreman grills will probably agree. Also, the picture looked great, the new design all sleek and black (the version I chose) or the traditional metallic silver.
The first disappointment came straight away when I took the grill out of its box - the black cover is not matte, as it appears in the pictures, but high shine, like Japanese lacquer. And you see every fingerprint, every little scratch - the first very slight marks and scratches were already on it when it arrived (it is virtually impossibble to get it in and out of the box without marking it). So it's cleaning with lots of care and a very, very soft cloth only - which is fine ... if this wasn't a grill, used in a real kitchen. My advice: Go for silver! The second disappointment is that it might have gained vertical storage and a place for the cable but it has lost its timer and its variable temperature control. Admittedly, I didn't use the latter that often and can do without. The timer, though, is a different story. Not having a built-in timer means getting out the old kitchen timer every time, not an insurmountable problem, sure, but exceedingly annoying.
All that aside, of course, it is still a Foreman grill and does what it is supposed to do - and does it as satisfyingly as ever. Grilling works great, even though I had to get used to the different direction of the machine & plates which at first made it appear smaller than my old machine (optical illusion or senior moment ... I prefer the first option). Cheese on toast and similar snacks work great as well, though they do take time. I found that, for example, tuna melts work best with the regular grill function, i.e. contact grilling with closed lid, but the choice is up to you. Overall, it is still one of the most useful kitchen applicances I have and it would have got at least 1 star more if I had chosen the silver version instead of the black. Ah well, we all make mistake so that we can learn from them ...