List Price: $390.00
Sale Price: $341.99
Today's Bonus: 12% Off
(UPDATE 5/12/13)
I've had this a year now and I've increased the original rating from 3 to 4 stars because it does what it's designed for but with little to no precise temperature control. I use it often outdoors in the summer for BBQ's but with modifications to meet my needs. My hope was to use the plate warmer for burger and hot dog buns and tortillas. First time I tried that I was serving dehydrated bread to my guests cuz it gets so hot. It would work well for warming plates but the temperature controls are far from precise. It gets too hot to touch and when I turn it down ever-so-slightly, it gets too cold. I continue to use it for a bread and tortilla warmer but I put a small metal pan of water in with the bread which keeps the bread moist but now the new problem arises...the steam from the water condenses between the two glass sliding doors and they stick together. One of the doors just needs to be left open slightly to allow the steam to escape and problem solved. I also have to put a rack or towel on the base so the bread does not make contact with the metal or that too will dry it out. Again, I know it was designed as a plate warmer and for that it would work well but I just wanted to share what I intended to use it for in case someone else has the same idea. Now for the top warming pans. I wrote below that I was surprised to find the food on top is heated without any kind of moisture but what I've found is as long as the food is being replenished and doesn't sit in the pans unattended for more than an hour, it actually works very well. I bought extra pans online so when one empties I can just replace it with fresh hot food. Compared to using hotel pans heated with Sterno this has done a solid job. It's much easier than monitoring the Sterno and protecting it from the wind when outdoors. I hope this helps.
(Original review below)
3 stars out of the box. I just unpacked this and because I'm in the restaurant business I was surprised to find that the warming pans on top are not part of a steam table or warmed with water. They are simply warmed by sitting atop the cabinet. It just seems counter-intuitive to warm with dry heat. The manual does state that you should have the items you wish to keep warm already hot before adding to the unit because it heats so slow. Perhaps that's the secret. We'll see. Now for the details. What you see in the picture atop the cabinet is simply a steel frame that loosely holds the hotel pans on the top. The frame easily lifts off and can slide side to side (not front to back due to lips impeding such movement) because it is not attached in any way. If you search for other products from Broil King you will find just the warming cabinet ( http://www.amazon.com/BroilKing-MLW-C-Warming-Cabinet-Family-Size/dp/B0018Z2PL8/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1338279109&sr=1-1 ). That warming cabinet is exactly what you have if you remove the frame and pans and it's $100 cheaper than the unit with the pans. I just looked on the restaurant supply store website that I use and found the pans sans the frame for $8 each. The hotel pans (or chafing pans) are 1/2 pans 2.5" deep (a little smaller than I'd hoped). I bought this for entertaining at my house and have not used it yet. It was on my Amazon wishlist for a year and a half and I finally pulled the trigger because we entertain outdoors a lot and we were tired of later guests eating cold food. The heat control knobs for inside and on top of the cabinet are labeled 1, 2 ,3 and I would prefer temps rather than "I hope 2 is warm enough!". We will be using it this weekend (June 3rd, 2012) and I will report back regarding it's performance. I will monitor temps and hopefully be able to report those as well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and I'm pulling for ya Broil King as it is nice to buy an American-made product for once.
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