SUMMARY-----------
To cut to the chase Anolon has changed some things about this griddle since I bought mine in 2007, but I still highly recommend it. I love the size, the ease of cleaning, and the ability to place it in the oven up to 400F. The metal turner that comes with this is also high quality like the other Anolon utensils that I've purchased. The metal turner has left some marks on the griddle, but the non-stick performance is so far unchanged.
VIDEO (Really?)
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"A video review of a GRIDDLE?! Seriously?" I hear ya. :D You certainly don't need to watch it to get my recommendation...but you do need to watch it to see my dog Niki. :) (I recommend the outtake at the end.) I just wanted to make this video because I've owned a set of Anolon Advanced cookware, including this griddle, for five years now and I love them. In particular, I love the double burner griddle. I really can't say that strongly enough. I've used it countless times to make pancakes with outstanding results. The coating has stood up wonderfully for over five years of stove and oven use on all of the cookware, as have the handles.
This new griddle is a little different, though, so I couldn't just say that it'll work and last the same way. While the coating has the same name, now the coating is listed as being metal-utensil safe, so I put it to the test. Also, this new griddle is about 50% thinner than the older one, meaning that it's lighter weight (which is nice) but also potentially slightly less even in cooking. Also, at least on the two griddles that I have, the coating on the new griddle is not as smooth or shiny as it is on my original one.
COOKING TESTS
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I've only cooked pancakes on my original griddle and have only used nylon utensils. To test out the new griddle, I wanted to do more than pancakes to give a fuller review, as well as use the included metal turner. So far, I've baked bread sticks from fresh dough in the oven at 375F, cooked pancakes (two and three at a time), cooked scrambled eggs, and reheated pizza slices on the stove. For the most part, everything turned out great. I have two things that I want to note, though:
(*) After cooking the egg, I noticed marks on the surface of the griddle (shown in the video). After experimenting with the turner, I found that these were caused by scraping with the turner flipped over. I was still using the front flat edge, and I can't see or feel any burrs on that edge, but it will leave marks with even slight amounts of pressure.
(*) I cooked three pancakes at a time (one over each burner area and one in between) to check how even the cooking was. All of them came out great, but it was clear that the heating was uneven over the surface of the griddle, being cooler in between the burners. Perhaps due to the thinner construction, but I can't say for sure. Still good, IMO, but not perfect.
METAL-SAFE?
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So, is the coating metal safe? I'd say, "mostly." Scraping the scrambled egg with the turner flipped around left marks, so I just tried scraping the griddle with the turner while not cooking. When using the turner right-side up, it left no marks. Flipped over, it marked with very little pressure. I can't see or feel any burrs on the turner, so I'm not sure why. However, the marks are definitely there. The nice thing is that they seem to be purely aesthetic. The non-stick performance has not been affected.
VERDICT
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I still give this a very high set of marks. The marks caused by the metal turner are aesthetic and don't seem to have affected the non-stick performance at all. I'll likely switch to using my Anolon nylon utensils, though.
I've read where this model doesn't work well on flat-surface stoves because it's not completely flat, but I can't address that. It works wonderfully on my gas stovetop, and I imagine it's the same on raised electric burners.
The turner that is included is much nicer than I had expected it to be, and although it's called "mini," it's a good size even for flipping pancakes.
Overall, highly recommended.
The KitchenAid Gourmet Griddle has sides that are sloped less so it is easier to get your turner under pancakes to flip, but still high enough to keep a dozen scrabbled eggs contained. The Anolon Griddle has straiter sides so you have to spend more time digging the scrambled eggs out of the edges.
The KitchenAid Gourmet Griddle has handles that set away from the sides than the Anolon Griddle, making it cooler for me to grab and move.
The Anolon Griddle says it is able to handle metal utensils and the KitchenAid Gourmet Griddle does not, but I already have all nylon, silicone and bamboo utensils for my other nonstick cookware so this doesn't really mean much to me. It is not worth the extra money that Anolon charges for their griddle; $48 vs. $62 at the time of this review.
The KitchenAid Gourmet Griddle has noticeably superior nonstick coating as far as food slipping off the surface. The Anolon griddle surface feels ever so slightly gritty compared to the KitchenAid.
To test these I had them side by side on my stove and cooked identical batches of scrambled eggs and pancakes for 27 people for breakfast over Thanksgiving weekend, so they got quite the workout.
I took off one star for inferior surface and another star off for price related to value of product. If they were damaged or lost, I would pay to replace the KitchenAid Gourmet Griddle.
PS FYI: The metal turner that comes with this griddle has a curved tip, so it is much less useful than a strait edged turner, they should have made it with a strait edge and had the corners be the same shape as the pan's corners for you could use it to dig out food from the pan's edges easier. Unimpressed. After using this product for the last few months, I can say that it is sturdy and handles well. I still prefer to use non-metal utensils. I'm not totally sold on any product being scratch proof enough for the non-stick surface to be resilient.
When placed over two small burners, the centre section is about 10 degrees cooler. The temperature differencial is good for cooking eggs while bacon/sausage is cooking on the ends. I also prefer to use it to make toast instead of a toaster. All-in-all, great so far. This griddle is pretty much perfect. It heats evenly, the nonstick works like a charm, it cleans very easily, and the pour spout drain thingie in the corner has saved me a lot of bacon grease mishaps. Most importantly for me, though it is LIGHT. Incredibly light, especially if you have any cast iron pans to compare it to. I love my cast iron, but lifting them on/off the stove and in/out of the sink is a serious workout! I've used the griddle about 8 or 9 times so far (for grilled sandwiches, burgers, bacon and pancakes), and it looks good as new. Great product. My favorite double griddle of all time was the KitchenAid non-stick enamel. I was so sad when they discontinued that item. Enter the Anolon double griddle. As much as I loved the KitchenAid version, this one has one several advantages:
1. Longevity. I went through two of the KitchenAid version even with very careful treatment. I never put it in the dishwasher and never used metal utensils with it. Still the non-stick surface degraded fairly rapidly for such a high priced item.
2. Metal utensils will not destroy the non-stick surface
3. For folks with enamel stovetops the Anolon double griddle has an added appeal: it won't adhere to your stove if you don't use a "bridge"
The only cons I can come up with, but don't keep me from loving this:
1. Cannot be washed in the dishwasher (this isn't a con for me, but may be for others)
2. It doesn't seem to hold the heat quite so well and my former double griddles, but this is not a deal breaker.
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