Waffle Maker Recommendation
 

Tragedy has struck. My beloved Belgian waffle maker went up in a cloud of smoke tonight. I noticed it was taking longer than usual for it to heat and the ready light never came on. I moved the control knob around and heard a few loud clicks. Soon there was smoke coming from it and it died. :( It was a very good waffle maker and lasted about 10 years with very frequent use. So now I'm in the market for a new one. Has anyone had any good experiences with current models?

I don't make Belgian waffles at home, but for the past five years or so have used a Chef's Choice waffler for "regular" thickness waffles. It has great crispness control, works very well overall, and has been very durable for the most part (some of the white lettering on the outside smudged a bit when exposed to a spray cleaner, but that's a minor detail to me). Assuming their Belgian waffler works as well as their regular, it's worth checking out.

I have a Bella Cucina waffle maker that I really like. It's about 3 years old, so not sure if they are still available. It rotates like the ones at hotels.

I use one that goes on top of the stove due to limited space where I currently live. It actually works pretty well, though I have noticed that it's becoming less "non-stick" and seemingly requires more oil sprayed inside to keep the waffles from sticking. If it was actually cast iron instead of cast aluminum I'd try doing the typical cast iron seasoning to see if it'd help.

Well, just like my cheap blender in the other thread I have a cheap Oster waffle iron. :D
I have had it for a zillion years and works great. But I rarely make waffles so that might be why it still works. I picked it because it is small and I don't feel guilty making a bunch of waffles for one person....it makes 4 small ones.

Thanks for the recommendations. I'm going to go take a look at a few models during the week. Some new models even have removable grids which would make cleanup a lot easier.