Better Than The George Foreman Grill

I ended up buying a Hamilton Beach Meal Maker Express Contact Grill. You can see it on their website below:

http://www.hamiltonbeach.com/products/indoor_grills/25325.html

I cooked two steaks on it this evening, and they came out great. Evenly cooked and very tasty!

I looked at a few different models and brands. I decided on the Hamilton Beach over the George Foreman for a few reasons:

* The Hamilton Beach has a built-in drip tray (to collect any fat that runs off the meat). Every single George Foreman grill that I saw had a drip tray that you just place on the counter underneath a slot. The tray could get bumped and cause a mess on the counter.

* The shape of the Hamilton Beach makes more sense. The George Foreman models are round, even though the grilling area is rectangular.

* The grilling surfaces can be taken out of the Hamilton Beach for cleaning (and they're dishwasher safe). The George Foreman grilling surfaces aren't removable, so you've got to clean the machine itself.

* The Hamilton Beach can open up and create two side-by-side cooking surfaces, which doubles the surface area. This will be great when cooking for more than just two people. I'm very impressed with the design of this, because the fat drains off the second grill into the same (attached) drip pan.

* The Hamilton Beach was $100, and the George Foreman was $170, so the lower price was an added advantage!

The only minor downside to the Hamilton Beach is that the timer is spring-wound instead of digital. It creates a ticking sound like an egg timer while it's counting down. It's not a big deal though, and I can always use the timer on the stove.