|
| 
 enlarge | Brand: T-Fal
List Price: $129.99
Buy New: $97.73 (On sale from $102.62)
You Save: $4.89 (5%)
Rating:  269 reviews
Color: Chrome and Black
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 22.3
Dimensions (in): 20 x 12 x 11.3
Warranty: 1
MPN: OT8085002
Model: OT8085002
UPC: 023108006705
EAN: 0023108006705
ASIN: B0001ATELU
Availability: Usually ships in 4-5 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-10 of 10 | | « PREV | | |
Extremely versatile, but not without quirks August 27, 2008
A. Ihnatko (Boston, MA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
For those of you who read the first paragraph and only skim the rest: this is a reliable and versatile countertop oven that can handle anything that a "real" oven can do, given the limited interior size. It has a couple of annoying little quirks. But in a product category crowded with cheaply-made junk that can barely bring a Pop-Tart above room temperature and breaks down weeks after the warranty expires. the Avante Elite is a keeper.
Details:
I've had this oven for a couple of weeks now. I ordered the Avante partly out of frustration. I'd bought a GE and then a Black & Decker toaster oven at local big-box stores, but returned them unopened after doing a Google search at home and finding page after page of reviews posted by angry and disappointed owners. The Avante was well-reviewed by The Famous Consumer Magazine and gets high marks from just about everyone.
I was immediately impressed with its construction. It feels like a major appliance and not a tin box. The controls are dead-simple. The convection fan does make a bit of noise, but it's nothing you can't live with. And unlike most other toasters and toaster ovens I've tried, the sides of the Avante are merely warm to the touch when in operation.
I was looking for something to toast bread and bagels in but I also wanted a unit that could credibly take over most of the work of my "real" oven. The Avante didn't disappoint. After two weeks of cooking main courses, sides, and desserts in it, I'm convinced that (apart from its small cooking space) I can cook anything I want in this thing. A pan of cornbread came out evenly-browned. A lasagna was cooked consistently all the way through. Even breakfast popovers puffed up nicely.
I still don't know how I feel about the warming compartment. I do use it often. When the chicken comes out of the frying pan way ahead of the vegetables I've got roasting in the oven, I just toss the meat in some foil and pop it in the warmer. Very handy.
Still, other toaster ovens this big have a single, larger cooking space. I don't know if I'll still be a fan of the warming compartment the first time I want to try to roast a whole chicken or bake a couple of trays of cookies at the same time.
My sole serious complaint about the Avante is its slide-out rack. I can vouch for the other comments about the thing. I was aware that there was no "stop" on the rack to prevent it from sliding all the way out, but I had imagined that I could just pull it out an inch or two...you know, far enough to get a better grip on the casserole dish or the pan I was cooking. "Big deal," I thought. "Just be careful."
Nope. The thing slides out as though it's on ball bearings. If you're not anticipating it, you can very, very easily send your piping-hot food tumbling onto the counter and then onto yourself. Even if you hold tightly onto your baking dish, it's way too easy for that 400-degree metal rack to clatter right out onto the counter and brand you in a sensitive area.
Another quirk: if you intend to use it as a "real" oven, invest in a simple $6 oven thermometer. I've found that the actual internal temperature is about thirty to fifty degrees lower than the temperature you've selected. The oven also heats up slowly. That's a surprise, given its small size. But you'll quickly anticipate these adjustments after a couple of weeks with the thermometer and it ceases to become any kind of an issue.
You should also expect to adjust a recipe's published cooking time. The Avante is no speed demon. Typically, I extend the oven time by 25 to 50 percent. Even a couple slices of toast take four or five minutes, compared to a conventional toaster's two or three.
Like the temperature problem, I don't consider this a major issue. No matter what oven I use, I never go by cooking time anyway. I pull a dish out when it's the right internal temperature or has the correct appearance.
So although thr Avante it's not without faults I'm convinced it's the best toaster oven you can buy for less than $100. For someone like me who typically only cooks for one or two people, it's a perfectly fine alternative to lighting up a huge oven. Even if you're cooking for a family, I can easily imagine scenarios in which a secondary cooker would be a big convenience.
great little oven August 25, 2008
R. Pyles (Maryland)
...well, not so little. My wife and daughter were surprised by the size. We've used this thing for a couple weeks and are very satisfied. So much so that we've not used the oven since. Undoubtedly for larger items (8x10 cake, for example) the oven will come in handy, but for almost anything else we use the T-Fal toaster oven. I agree with other reviewers that the only minor drawback (other than size) is getting the hot items out. The grill slides out too easily, and the pans slide off the grill easily also. A nice compact oven mit (there are some nice silicon ones out there) is a must. We've cooked brownies, cookies, small pizzas, bread, baked french fries, whatever and they've all come out great. I like having a digital timer and digital heat settings rather than the usual rotary type too.
All in all we're quite satisfied with this T-Fal toaster oven, and look forward to many good years use out of it.
 Oven is disappointing August 18, 2008
Rain M. (Boston, MA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have now had the toaster oven for about 5 months and use it daily.
Although it takes a bit longer to toast, it does a good, even job of toasting. The extra room helps when toasting large items. I wish there was a mechanism (a simple notch) to prevent the rack from sliding all the way out of the oven and thereby spilling the hot food on the counter or on you. It seems like an easy to correct problem, but although the unit has been in the market for a while, it seems to have remained uncorrected.
My main disappointment has been with the oven. There is no way to know when it has heated up to the required temperature. Food takes significantly longer to cook as compared to a regular oven. For instance, a frozen pizza or a frozen meal takes twice as long to cook in this oven as in the regular oven. Part of the problem may be that with the regular oven, you put the food in only when the oven is heated up to the right temperature and you begin counting the minutes, per your recipe, from that point on. With this one, since there is no way to tell if it has reached the right temperature, you put the food in right away (or wait for a bit before doing so) and begin your count at that point. Maybe the oven hadn't reached the correct temperature when you put the food in. But how would I know since there is no way to tell when the oven is ready? I cannot follow any recipes with regard to timing- it is all trial and error.
In somewhat good news, my unit is not noisy as seems to be the case for some users here. Also, at least so far, the glass door hasn't exploded on me, although I live in mortal fear of that given the comments here.
 Awesome! August 11, 2008
A. Gift For You (Sunny CA)
I have never had a toaster oven before so this is my first experience and we didn't have one growing up. Since I have a 4 year old and make small amounts of oven food, I didn't want to heat my entire house up living in over 100 degree weather this summer. So, bought a toaster oven. LOVE this! It cooks very predictable every time and we love that it is saving so much energy by not heating up the entire oven. I don't even use my toaster anymore since this is on my counter all the time. It does take longer to toast in the this rather than a conventional toaster, but it's just easier not to have to get it out of the cabinet.
T-fal convection toaster oven August 10, 2008
Georgia Grose (Baltimore, MD)
Replaced my older toaster oven with the T-Fal convection toaster oven and have been very pleased. Stays much cooler than a regular toaster oven. Controls work very well. The warming area is just great for heating up breads. The only downside I have encountered was mentioned by previous reviewers, the sliding rack come out too easily, you have to remember that or they will pull out completely, other than that one item, I am very happy with my new toaster oven.
|
|
|
| |
