Nostalgia HDT600RETRORED Retro Pop-Up 2 Hot Dog and Bun Toaster, With Mini Tongs, Works With Chicken Dogs, Turkey Dogs, Veggie Links, Sausages and Brats

Great little toaster. This really does a great job of grilling the hot dogs, and depending on what heat setting you use (a knob goes from 1-5), you can get them browned or even blackened like you would if you had them over a bonfire or put them on a grill. It has a nice compact design, a basket in the middle holds the hot dogs, easy to pull out so you can wash it afterwards. There is a tray that slides out of the bottom, like most toasters, and you can wash that as well. It seems like a decent amount of juice from the hot dogs will get trapped down there as well as crumbs from the buns. I think it's a pretty great product overall. I have used it for about a week now, several times, have experienced no issues so far. It works better if you put it on a lower setting, put the hot dogs and buns in together at first- maybe a 3 setting...let it cook, then take out the bun, should be toasted by that point, then crank it up to 5 and cook the hot dogs alone. I like them literally black in parts. What happens is the hot dog tends to plump up, curves a bit closer to the heating element (it literally is the same sort of heating element in a regular toaster), and that tends to get areas of the hot dog browned/blackened. Works really well. I usually get a bit of smoke as the oil drops into the pan below and the hot dog curves toward the heating element, but it's easy enough to clean up, and it's way more convenient than waiting for water to boil, cooking, emptying the water, cleaning the pan...and much better tasting than using the microwave to cook them. Some have mentioned issues with ballpark franks or hot dogs that plump up getting stuck in basket. I have not had that issue at all. It comes with a set of metal tongs which you will definitely need to take them out of the basket as it will get super hot after cooking. I used angus beef franks from ball park, they seemed to plump up as normal, did not get stuck in the basket at all. The design is very retro. Just a button to stop the cooking, a thing to press like on any toaster to push the racks down inside the heating element, and a dial that goes from 1 to 5 for temperature control. It's pretty neat looking overall. I did notice the first two times, it did smoke. The label on the top of the unit says this, and I just ran it twice with nothing in it, and it smoked...has not done the same since. You get a burning plastic smell the first two times as well, but I see no damage to the unit inside or out or any melted plastic. I did notice that the buns will blacken where they hit the metal near the heating element, and honestly I don't know how you would clean out the burnt bread from that part. I used a wet towel and paper towels, no luck. There's a little black residue from where the buns hit the wall, but it's not that big of a deal I don't figure, and it does not effect any future buns or how they cook or taste. Unit does a good job of toasting the buns throughout, and depending on how long you keep them in there, it will, as mentioned, turn them brown or black on the outer edges that push into the metal inside the unit. A really fun product, very convenient if you eat hot dogs often enough. I would not try anything larger than your average plumped up beef frank. No brats or anything, as they would surely get caught in the basket and rip apart. The basket, I should mention, isn't the easiest thing to clean either, so some residue, I think, will stay on there for a long while. Nothing gross or anything, just some slight grease, even if you scrub it with something abrasive. Love the unit so far and would totally recommend.

When I saw this product I had to have it. This is the most amazing thing since hot water as far as I am concerned. I got it the day after I ordered it. After reading all the negative reviews I could find here is how I approached using the product. 1) Smokes during first few uses-I turned the knob to 5 and let it perform a burn-in cycle with nothing in it. Instructions say to not operate without at least 1 hotdog and bun. But in my opinion if it can't survive 1 cycle it would need to be returned as POS. Burn-in worked fine and it did smoke like a bingo player at first, then it stopped. Subsequent uses were smoke free with no odor/taste effect on the food. 2) Bun burning along edges-Yes it burned the buns along the edge and was heavier from the top of the toaster down. But after a bit of carbon buildup on the inside it no longer burns the bun and I do cook on number 5. The buns need to be regular sized. I also noticed that most buns, I tried 3 brands, are baked/sliced in such a way that one end is more tapered and I place them into the toaster tapered end up. 3) Hotdog expands in holder and is hard to get out-Yes it does on fat hotdogs. Also over cooking causes the hotdogs to split as I discovered when working out the best cook setting. Skinny ones like Oscar Mayer or Nathans or Hebrew National have no problem. I tried 6 different brands all beef brands including Ball Park and Bar S and some generic brand. The BallPark were the worst case of the bubch but I got them out without too much carnage. Overall they all cooked great at setting of 5. I prefer my hotdogs either hot or cold but not in between. 4) Cheaply made with plastic-It was only $20. However the plastic housing makes it cool to the touch. Key points are it works very well and is easy to clean up. In conclusion, I think my organs are failing from all the hotdogs I've eaten the last couple of weeks. Everyone who sees the toaster has a big inner child smile moment and has to try it. It works as advertised. It's inexpensive and its color matches my coffee maker.

Easy to use and clean, it’s quick and convenient? great kitchen gadget for people who love small kitchen appliances. The red is super cute and the hot dogs actually come out good! Love how you can toast the bread while the hotdogs cook. Cooks in less than 10 minutes. Great for gift giving

This is a great product that I use often! It's convenient, effective and a counter space savior! I can use it and forget it while going about doing other things in the kitchen due to its timer. When its done, the hot dogs and buns pop up and are ready to assemble and eat! A great convenience that's easily used and easily cleaned once cooled. Thank you!

This is a cool looking gadget and I sooooo wanted it to work as well as it looks. I had this idea of a quick lunch, pop in a couple of weenies and buns and voila, instant hot dogs. Plus, I figured for $20, what's to lose? So, I ordered one. It's okay. Nothing terribly bad here. Nothing really good either. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly. Hot dogs; yes! They are easy to warm up! Drop two in, pull down the lever and in 2-3 minutes you have "sort of" heated dawgs. But, I have found after multiple tries, I cannot seem to get them warmed evenly. The ends seem okay (hot) but the middle of the hot dog is not. I suspect if I had not taken them right out of the refrigerator, or maybe left them on the counter for a while to warm up, the result might have been better (more evenly warmed); but, who does that in real life? I figured out that I can push the lever down for a second go at it and the meat sort of gets warmer throughout. So, I give the meat-cooking part of this device a B+. Clean up? The tray at the bottom pulls out easily enough and the juices drop down on it as designed. I have to give that feature the best rating. I give it an "A." Buns? Not so good here. First off, I erred and bought premium buns. Don't do that. They will be too large to fit in the bun-slot. Buy cheap, small (did I say small) buns and they will fit into the bun slots. Now that you have small hot dog buns, will the toaster feature evenly toast those buns? Probably not! At least not in my experience. In fact, more often then not, the edges of the buns were burned. So, I give the bun-toasting feature a grade "C." Looks? This thing is really cute. I have to give it that. Grade "A." Quality of the device? Well, honestly, it is a cheap little toaster. But, I did not expect too much for $20 and I won't be surprised if it fails after a few uses. It is a gimmick after all.

As a hotdog lover from way back, my preferred way of cooking one is on a straightened metal coat hanger over a firepit full of wood. But unless I am at the beach or at someone else's place that has a fire pit in their backyard, I have to choose between the microwave, steaming, boiling, or frying. Well not anymore! I found this hot dog toaster by chance online and it was the best buy I have made in a long time. You can actually cook the dogs until they blacken and the oil bursts through the skins, at least that is how I like them anyway. They seem to have much more flavor. Anyway, I have to put them through the toaster three times, each time flipping them top to bottom, to get them to that stage where they are bursting with flavor and somewhat crispy. The buns I do not put in until the third cycle. I was never a fan of toasted buns before, but this toaster seems to make them just right and I do not see how I ever ate a hot dog without the bun toasted in the past........DELICIOUS! One warning though, if you cook the dogs for more than one cycle, do it under the hood on the stove so you don't set off any smoke alarms in the house. Not that this toaster gives off a lot of smoke, but three cycles take about 10 minutes to cook (3.5 minutes on the #5 setting) and so even a little smoke over 10 minutes will set off a smoke alarm since they are pretty sensitive. The drain pan in the bottom of the toaster will fill up with the oil that drains from the dogs especially if you cook them for 10 minutes like I do, but the pan has never overflowed and by the time I finish my dogs and go to clean the toaster, the oil has solidified so not a big mess to clean up. Just take out the pan and wash it with dishwashing liquid and take out the metal basket that holds the dogs while they are cooking and do the same. Wipe down the top of the toaster and clean as a whistle. Toasting the dogs in this toaster really brings out the flavor of the dogs where the microwave, steaming, boiling, etc. does not. If you are a hot dog lover, buy this toaster and you will not be disappointed.

Great for white Christmas gift.

I live in a state where using the grill in the winter is not an option. This toaster is definitely better than just boiling your hot dogs. It's easy to use but you have to keep a close eye on the buns as they can burn quickly. The toaster is light weight and small enough that it's easy to find a place for storage.