Accessories Reviews

Right out of the box, I could see the Gold C series grill was the right choice. To start with, Weber packaging is the very best I have seen, everything is padded and secured in the utmost care. Make sure you have another person to help remove this out of the box...it is large and heavy(this is a good thing).

The stainless steel is of the highest quality and looks great! The grill was a breeze to put together (8 bolts altogether, they even include the wrench)

Now for the best part...cooking! No lava rocks needed here, this baby is stainless steel all around: burners, flavorizer bars and grates are all stainless! My first cooking expedition... a modest ribeye, but the Weber showed it's colors! The sear marks were awesome and the steak was done to perfection.
The burners on this remind me of a top of the line Viking stove(nice even blue flames), they run the full length of the grill and each(3) are controlled separately.

I looked at this grill at [a local retailer], but Amazon.com was lower in price....
If you like to grill and want something to last, check out this Weber...they have an excellent warranty to ensure your investment.

----5 month Update------
I have had this grill for five months now, are you wondering how I feel about the grill after using it at least 3-5 times a week? Well, I must tell you...this is the BEST grill for the money! The stainless still looks brand new and it cooks better than any grill I have ever used or seen.

I have cooked: filet mignons, porterhouses, t-bones, strips, ribeyes, chicken, vegetables...the list goes on; and every time it shines through. Excellent heating, this machines get seriously hot in minutes and can maintain: high, medium and low heat evenly.

If you're looking for a grill that really does deliver in this price range...this is it!

I expect this grill to last for many years; take a second and break the cost of this grill out over 7-10 years. What a great bargain...excellent food and reliabilty.

I have wanted a Weber grill for years, having been unhappy with the Sunbeam and Char Broil models I've owned. However, I could never find a Weber at a price I thought was fair, and discounts were non-existent. This Genesis Gold C stainless model (including stainless cooking grates and flavorizer bars) was a nice upgrade to the Genesis Silver models, and with the free shipping and Gift Card Amazon.com offered, proved to be the value I have been waiting for.

Shipping was very fast, and EGL put it right where I asked them to, and their customer service people were very helpful. They called ahead to schedule delivery, and I was able to call on the delivery day to determine an approximate time they would arrive. Since I was not present, I left a note with instructions and a signature and the driver did exactly as I requested.

The grill assembled easily, with no surprises, and has worked flawlessly. I've cooked on it several times, including fatty foods (Italian sausage) with no flare-ups, but lots of smoke. The heat appears to be quite even, although there are some spots that aren't quite as hot. I'm hoping to experiment with a smoker box to add more flavor, but I am pleasantly surprised with the large amounts of smoke produced in normal cooking by the flavorizer bars.

I won't know for a while whether the stainless steel interior parts improve the durability of the grill enough to justify the extra expense, but the stainless hood does look very spiffy.

After much research, I decided on the new model Weber Genesis Gold C Grill. The new 2002 models have stainless steel hoods, grates, and flavorizer bars, which gives the Gold C a more expensive and beefed up look compared to the Genesis Silver series. Like many readers, we decided to spend the extra money after going through a fiesta grill and charbroil grill in less than five years.
The grill arrived on 4/2/02 by truck ... and was delivered right onto the back deck and it only took me about 20 minutes to completely assemble the grill (needed the wife once for a few seconds to lift the base onto the stand). Weber even provides the tool to tighten the couple of screws needed for assembly.
So far I have cooked lamb chops, NY strip steaks, Cornish game hens, chicken quarters and eggplant on the grill. They all came out great with no flare ups or uneven cooking that occurred regularly with our past grills. The 3-burner system is great for cooking food like the hens by indirect heat to the perfect crispness and temperature.
Decided to get the C Model which adds in the side burner .... Even though we will only get a few uses out of the sideburner a summer it beats heating up the kitchen.
The only drawbacks I can think of is that the grill only has 3 tool hooks and no front basket for sauces, etc but the 2 pop-up shelves come in very handy. Also the Stainless Steel hood shows fingerprints so it needs to be wiped off after every few uses. I use a SS polish for cooking pans to shine up and clean the hood and boy, does it look good after being buffed
For this price you be hard pressed to find a better quality built SS grill. This is a well built, durable and attractive grill that cooks to perfection every time.

I have the new Froth 'n Sauce, which is similar to this except it has an additional whip that makes sauces and/or gravies. I love it! We have our cappuccino every night and this machine provides PLENTY of froth! The froth does maintain its shape (or form) for a full 45 min., if you can wait that long to drink it! No more froth dissolving into the hot coffee. I don't find the clean-up to be difficult at all. I rinse the unit immediately, and the milk coating really just rinses out. To make additional batches of froth or latte you merely rinse the container with cold water between batches. It makes wonderful hot chocolate even using the store bought chocolate milk! Low fat milk products work best.

Ever since I got my Froth Au Lait, I cannot wait to get out of bed in the mornings. I start my coffee maker, pour in the milk and VOILAA I get the best tasting cappuccino around (yes, including Starbucks). So easy to use, the froth is so thick and you can add many flavors. Its a great option if you want a delicious , low-fat dessert. I love it and cannot imagine life without it.

This hot milk frother is excellent. You get scalding thick hot milk for you coffee, with a topping of wonderful froth.I love this item. ready in 3 min, put it on while the coffee is brewing.

I've seen many complaints here about the efficacy of this filter. However, for a very quiet filter, I have found it works great. I have it plugged in right next to the cat box, and while it doesn't immediately eliminate all smells, my room smells much better than it did before. It's not a miracle worker, but for the price, it does a great job. I leave mine running all the time, and it is very quiet, I have no problem sleeping with it on.

We give the Hamilton Beach 04255 TrueAir Plug-Mount Odor Eliminator (WITH three replacement filters) a five-star rating and would rate it higher if more than 5-star ratings were available. Here's our reasons why: 1. No fragrance or oil(s) to be dealt with, so no accidents. It's user-friendly! 2. When it is turned on (and the user has the option of having it run continuously or selectively by manually flipping a switch) it provides a soothing white noise 3. This product actually eliminates odors and makes a difference. We experimented by leaving it off for extended periods and then on for extended periods. Seriously, it's the first time we discovered a relatively low-cost, low-maintenance, totally effective Odor Eliminator that delivers on all counts with the bonus of some soothing white noise. The electric bill did not noticeably increase with frequent usage either -- we recommend this product highly. PLUS: ... has it for the lowest price we could find, we did find the unit being sold for ... (at a huge chainstore) but we could not tell from the packaging if it contained a starter filter or not, however; separately there were 3 types of filters to choose from at this particular chain store: general usage, tobacco-odor specific and pet-odor specific BUT individual filters, while available in two more options, were either near to ... each or slightly over -- while at ... the unit is available at a great price AND includes THREE general usage filters. When we compared prices even with shipping and handling ... came out far, far ahead on value. A great product.

The Hamilton Beach 04255 TrueAir Plug-Mount Odor Eliminator is a terrific little product that does a great deal of work. Plug it in, turn it on, and in just a few hours you will find that the area around it smells a lot better.

Don't expect a complete odor elimination from this product. For that, you would need to buy a unit that is at least 20 times more expensive than what this one sells for. The instructions clearly state that this Hamilton Beach Odor Eliminator does not eliminate all smells and that it only works on odors that are within a six foot range of the unit. And it does just that.

Let me give you a good example: About once a week I cook bacon for myself for breakfast. Unfortunately, my kitchen ends up smelling like bacon for two to three days after that. When I got my Odor Eliminator, I plugged it into a kitchen outlet and proceeded to cook some bacon. When I came home from work several hours later there was only a faint smell of bacon left in my kitchen, much, much less than what would have been there had I not plugged in the Odor Eliminator.

Though not noise free, the Odor Eliminator is relatively quiet. During the day you will hardly notice it at all, since most any other noise inside or ouside your house will cover it up. At night you will hear it more just because there is less other noise to cover it up. But it has never kept me awake or disturbed me while reading.

This Hamilton Beach Odor Eliminator is a terrific buy, especially since replacement filters are inexpensive and only have to be replaced every 2 to 4 months (depending on amount of use). If you have a big house, you could easily buy two or three of these and spend a lot less keeping your house smelling clean than if you paid hundreds of dollars for one of those bigger units.

This is an okay product, it didn't get my white wine nearly cold enough. You might get the same results or better if you put your bottle of wine in a cooler with ice and water.

This ws given to me as a gift, and I found it a simple, quick, easy and attractive way to chill wine while not having to stuff it back in an ice bucket. The ice bucket is a great way to chill, but you get someone who had the ice cold dripping on themselves. You can leave the bottle on the table and not worry about the bottle getting cold. I have 3, was given 2 and found the third in a different design. You can also take it in your picnic basket for a nice cold bottle of wine. But if you have a decent drive to get to where you are picnicing, take a second in the ice chest so as to put around the bottle when you meet your destination. That is what I did when some friends and I went to visit the Wineries here in Missouri, yes, we have wineries and they are superb and award winning.

The versatility ont his is that it can be used as an ice pack for injuries, believe, I know for what I speak.

5 minutes? Please. It does do a decent chill in 15-20, though (for a bottle of still white wine starting at room temperature; I'd allow a bit more for champagne with the thicker glass), which is still pretty impressive. I've had one of these in my freezer for a couple of years, and use it so I can keep a chilled bottle cold at the table during dinner. Of course you have to take it off to see the label, but that's still more convenient than making another trip to the fridge, and there's no water to deal with as you have with an ice bucket. The art also makes a nice conversation piece.

If you drink white wine, then I highly recommend this product.

I bought a similar model of Sonicare toothbrush about four years ago and I still marvel at how well it works. Honestly, when the price comes down everyone will own one of these.

I never used to enjoy brushing and I never used to brush my teeth as much as they needed it. I was just too lazy. My teeth were a little discolored and my gums were consistently a little puffy around the tooth. Then I bought the Sonicare with the interval timer and I'll never switch back to a manual toothbrush.

After the first few brushings my teeth were noticably whiter and after a few months I noticed the puffiness in my gums was gone.

At 30,000 strokes per minute it's like brushing hundreds of times with a manual brush. But all you have to do is "aim the brush" while it glides back and forth across your teeth. It feels like a vibrator in your hand. The timer pulses every thirty seconds to prompt you to switch from front to back of teeth and from top to bottom. After two minutes it shuts itself off after what is supposedly the ideal length of brushing time.

You can also take this brush with you when traveling as it works for more than a week without recharging.

Could it have any downsides?

Although I consider it easily worth every penny, the upfront cost is staggering compared to a manual toothbrush. It also requires a replacement brush head approximately every six months at about $15 each. But this is a sophisticated unit and is more like a medical device than a disposable supply item. The only thing they have in common is the brushes on the end and I'm sure the Sonicare is higher quality.

It is important to note that the brush head will slowly wear out without any visible sign of wear. The performance gradually degrades until the unit seems nonfunctional. I know because I tried to save money by not replacing the brush heads according to schedule. Fortunately all the moving and wearable parts (including brush, magnets and metal connecting parts) are in the brush head and when they are replaced performance is restored to like new again.

The first time you use this product it may make your teeth hypersensitive for a few days (because of the vibration) and while its permanent and rechargeable battery will last through most trips it is physically larger and takes slightly more space to pack than a manual brush.

Now I have never had to share the brush with anyone so I never had to switch brush heads on a daily basis. This seems to me like it would be an enormous hassle as you have to unthread and detach the head each time. While this is possible, I would probably buy two units instead if the finances allowed.

This is one of the best purchases I've ever made. I like it so much that I want other amazon.com readers to know about it too.

In summary, if you think you might like it and you can afford it, then go ahead and get one. They last a long time...

We have had this Sonicare Sonic Toothbrush set for almost a year now and are very happy with it. When my husband had his permanent upper bridge completed, our dentist recommended this unit for the duality of its keeping dentrifices and natural teeth in good health with its powerful, yet, gentle enough rotating bristle action.

We appreciate the long time battery charge, comfortable grip, ease of use, and just the way it makes your mouth feel so good. My husband always reminds me to pack his "oral massage" when we travel. Laughing....if he had just used this before, he might not have HAD to get that permanent bridge! What a savings that would have been. I like cleaning my tongue with the tickling ends, (lightening the pressure by hand) keeping any halitosis in check.

Note: if you brush your teeth frequently, (3-4 times per day), you may want to buy some extra brushes in advance, they do tend to wear quickly as they keep everything clean and almost plaque-free.

Amazon.com has this at a great price.(we paid much more) In my opinion, a perfect practical gift of health anytime, possibly even for those teens headed off to college who might need a fun 'lil maternal reminder to--"keep brushing your teeth!"

The biggest complaint I hear from people about electric tootbrushes is that the replacement heads are too expensive. Come now, that was the type of thinking that would have killed the Industrial Revolution!

For anyone who really cares about dental hygeine or even just the way they look to other people, you can't not use an electric toothbrush anymore. I laughed at the idea at first, but once I began using one I will never be able to use a regular toothbrush again without feeling like my mouth isn't clean. When you go to the dentist--what type of toothbrush does he/she use on you? Electric--for a reason, because it cleans better.

The marginally higher cost of replacing the heads rather than buying an entirely new disposable toothbrush is insignificant when you actually feel as clean as you can when you use an electric brush. Personal dental care has evolved to the next step, and you don't want to be caught be the last person using a slide ruler because you were too frugal to purchase the more expensive but more effective calculator.

Your teeth (and anyone who comes in contact with them) will thank you.

We ordered these to go with our new espresso machine and have been so pleased with them. We were really shocked at how delicious and tasty this coffee is - I bought it based on the Amazon reviews and they were right on. I decided these deserved another good review after I tried a Starbucks pod this morning and had to throw it out it was so terrible - it had no flavor and tasted watered down even though I made the correct amount (1 oz.) I have been lavishing praise on our espresso machine, which it does deserve, but I have now realized that the Espressione pods are the big reason that we've fallen so in love with our home espressos. The coffee is very flavorful, richly so. The price is also competitive when ordered in bulk like this, a great deal (these pods come out to be $.40 each whereas the Starbucks pods were $.41 each). They are certainly worth more.

One caveat, make sure to order the 100% Arabica pods - you would be well advised to always buy Arabica coffee as it is far superior to coffee made with the cheaper, more acidic Robusto beans.

After years of using Starbuck's decaf and regular single serving espresso pods, I finally found a substitute that's more economical and MUCH better tasting.

I've used three different brands of pods in my Starbuck's Barista machine, and have found that the quality of the pod and the flavor of the espresso inside is, by far, the best in the Espressione pods. The flavor is more full bodied and stronger than in the Starbuck's pods. I actually use one pod to make two shots of espresso, and the flavor is more intense than when I buy my specialty drinks from Starbucks or other coffee houses.

Also, the pod itself is of very high quality. Each pod is individually wrapped in an airtight, hard foil wrapper, and I've never opened a package yet that contained a torn pod with coffee spilling out. Such is not the case with other lesser brands.

The tab on each pod is also handy, making it easier to switch out a hot spent pod with a new one when making a second round of espresso.

I was a little worried about if those pods don't taste good, what should I do with those 150 pods? However, I took a chance while they were on sale here at amazon.com few month ago. After brewing my first cup of espresso with the pod, I realized that I will probably run out them very soon! With those pods, you can brew great tasty espresso with professional coffee shop quality. It tasts strong but not bitter, nor sour. The coffee is well-roasted with full-body flavor.
Most important is that it is so convenient!! Before using those pods, one shortcoming about using non-auto espresso machine was that I had to spend few minutes to wash those coffee away and carefully put coffee into the small holder before make another cup of espresso. It's always messy and time consuming! After using those pods, all I have to do for making next cup of espresso is picking up the pod and put a new pod. It's quick and clean. Now I can really enjoy my espresso.

This is the best toothbrush I have ever used! I had tons of dental work done 3 years ago, despite my brushing 3x's a day and flossing regularly. I got the brush 18 months ago and have had no dental problems at all. When I went in for a cleaning my dentist asked me why I was there, he said I had no plaque at all. He could not believe that I had not had a cleaning in the past year. The brush just quit working recently and sonicare sent me a new one free of charge. They said peroxide toothpaste is not good for the handle. The best customer service ever!!

This is one of those things which you think is completely a waste of money or just a novelty gadget if you have not tried it, but you just cant imagine what life was without it once you have it. This toothbrush is just great. It gives me that "after-the-dentist-cleaning-feeling" every time I finish brushing my teeth. Those hard to clean areas behind your teeth are easily cleaned with this toothbrush. But it could be a lot easier if the brush head were angled though, which I think sonicare have with their new Sonicare Elite line. I didnt buy the Elite because it costs about 40 dollars more, but looking back, It would have been well worth it. But the advance model is still great, and now I cant live without it.

Sonicare makes the most professional electric toothbrush on the market, as far as I can tell - at least that is marketed and sold to normal consumers. The brushhead moves so fast (I think around 30,000 rpm) that it just feels completely different from most other electric toothbrushes that run at a fraction of that speed. Because of the super-fast revolution, it's supposed to create sonic waves (thus the name) that breaks plaque up. You also do not have to brush as hard as other electric toothbrushes but still get an even better feeling of having really cleaned your teeth after a brush. This particular model of their brush is really helpful because it beeps every 30 seconds to tell you to move to another quadrant of your mouth, so that you give equal and adequate brushing time to all your teeth.

I did have one problem with this brush. After about a year it stopped working and despite cleaning, charging, replacing the brush head, etc., it simply would not work. Well, I contacted Sonicare, and they sent me over a replacement since there is a two-year warrenty on the brush! They did mention that they had recently discovered that certain toothpastes - with peroxide and/or whitening could degrade the plastic and cause water to get to the battery inside and ruin it. I don't have such toothpaste right now, but I'm sure it's possible I had some over the last year or so I had the brush before it stopped working, so just be careful and use only a plain paste or gell with the brush, and keep your warrenty and manual just in case!

I waited two weeks to receive my Sonicare ordered through Amazon and I never received it. I'm sure it's a wonderful product but now I will never know (actually I'll order it through drugstore.com so I will know soon enough). Amazon was incredibly unhelpful and I had to chase a package around until finally it got cancelled. Amazon prides itself on its personal recommendations but I'm terribly disappointed with their level of service and advise others not to use them.

The biggest complaint I hear from people about electric tootbrushes is that the replacement heads are too expensive. Come now, that was the type of thinking that would have killed the Industrial Revolution!

For anyone who really cares about dental hygeine or even just the way they look to other people, you can't not use an electric toothbrush anymore. I laughed at the idea at first, but once I began using one I will never be able to use a regular toothbrush again without feeling like my mouth isn't clean. When you go to the dentist--what type of toothbrush does he/she use on you? Electric--for a reason, because it cleans better.

The marginally higher cost of replacing the heads rather than buying an entirely new disposable toothbrush is insignificant when you actually feel as clean as you can when you use an electric brush. Personal dental care has evolved to the next step, and you don't want to be caught be the last person using a slide ruler because you were too frugal to purchase the more expensive but more effective calculator.

Your teeth (and anyone who comes in contact with them) will thank you.

I had heard from 2 of my friends that they loved their Sonicare toothbrush so I thought I would give it a try and see if I could cut down on the yearly cleanings that I need (3 or 4!). After using the toothbrush for one week (3x/day) I can already see and feel a noticable difference. Even though I was spending more than 2 minutes carefully brushing my teeth manually 3x/day and flossing - after using the Sonicare my teeth look whiter, feel cleaner, and my gums are feeling healthy. (You still should floss daily!)

During my first brushing session I was unsure if I would grow used to the vibrating action but after a couple of sessions I grew accustomed to it and now actually enjoy the sensation.

Another family member is also using the Sonicare (I have the PL-4 model). She had dental surgery for tooth implants a few months ago and was given a mouth rinse to use by her oral surgeon that stained her teeth black. After using the Sonicare for one week - she has noticed a noticible improvement in the removal of the stain.

The one issue I am concerned about is the recycling of the plastic/metal in the brush heads and nickel/cadmium batteries after the life of the unit is past. I hope that Sonicare has some provision for users to recycle the brush heads as they do the batteries. Consumers should not just toss these in the trash to end up in a landfill - but ask the manufacturer to recycle the plastic, metal and batteries in the brushes and the handle.

Other than the recycling issue for the brush heads, on performance - I would highly recommend this toothbrush. It is expensive - but it does deliver the promised results!

This attachment to the Kitchen Aid Mixer makes making homemade pasta fun! It's easy to use: I mix the dough, then make little rectangles, then slide it through the roller. The machine does all the work so it's easy and fast. (A manual machine would have make it a challenge for me!) Clean up is a snap because I don't have to wash it (it's not supposed to be immersed in water). I simply brush the excess flour off the ridges and wipe with a damp paper towel. The only drawback is I wish it had a linguine cutter. I have only been able to make angel hair, fettucine, and lasagna. It's lots of fun to use -- and worth the little extra time for the gourmet taste!

I decided to purchase this attachment instead of the other Kitchenaid pasta attachment (plates + food grinder) because I wanted to be able to make any kind of pasta: spinach, semolina, whole wheat, egg-free etc, and not be confined to a small number of recipes that were sure to work well with the plates. It has worked like a charm. Even the egg-free spinach pasta, which was very dry and crumbly to start, came out perfect.

The widest setting on the roller works to knead/roll the dough until its pliable enough to continue. Its amazing how such flaky dough can become so evenly mixed with minimal effort. From this point, its just a few more settings until you've got angel-hair thin dough. It is important to use the cutter before the ends of your dough dry out, lest they will clog the cutter.

Pasta is my favorite food, and this contraption makes it possible to make my own healthy, delicious pasta recipes at home, quickly!

I requested these rollers for a birthday gift because I felt that 100 bucks was a bit steep considering a regular hand cranked pasta roller cost ~50, and these were only attachments!
Regardless of the price, these rollers are an excellent product. After reading the older reviews, with folks complaining about there being little shreds of metal in the attachments, I think that Kitchenaid must have been reading them too, because my attachments came clean as a whistle. After going through the trouble of making throw-away dough, I did not see any debris being mixed in and was rather pleased.
The first things I made were an all-purpose flour pasta, and a semolina pasta, and the machine did a wonderful job on both. I really can't complain about these rollers at all. The fact that they are mounted high above your workspace is very convenient. And although I only used the attachments on the first speed setting, it was plenty fast enough for me. Most useful birthday gift I've received in a long time.

I've used a similar corkscrew from Brookstone which cost about $40 and I bought this one for $10. For $10 it ain't too bad but it's no way as good as the one from Brookstone. The one at Brookstone is mostly metal while this one is mostly plastic. The Houdini works well despite it being mostly plastic. Also, the Houdini is not as attractive as the two tone one from Brookstone. The one I got is black completely. Not too eye catching but it does what it suppose to do.
Bottomline: for the price it's a good corkscrew that gets the job done.

My wife has accretions in her thumb that interfere with her use of it, so we have to look for devices that make it easier for her- and I'm not adverse to easy, either. We've had the Metrokane a couple of weeks now (we usually have wine with dinner), and it works so simply and easily! I was initially suspicious of its slender, wire-like screw, which rotates going in AND out, but we just follow the instructions, and voila! out comes the cork. So far, we've used this on cold and warm bottles, stoppered with natural or reconstituted cork, and it works every time- sometimes, the cork can initially be a little resistant to remove from the corkscrew itself. (NB: We have not tried this device on non-cork or plastic closures yet.) I only wish it stowed flat- we improvise by using a heavy rubber band (produce / broccoli bands) around the handles, which allows it to fit flat in a drawer. Highly recommended!

I haven't had to use this corkscrew often, as my fiance and I both drink very little wine. When I have used it though, it has worked WONDERFULLY! It uses leverage to open the wine bottle instead of the old pull and yank and twist method I had to use when working in an upscale restaurant many years back. I've never had a broken cork while using this opener - which is a wonder! This opener is a little bit large and takes quite a bit of storage space in my kitchen drawers.. but that's the only fault I can find with it! I highly recommend!