When I was over at my friend’s house for a dinner party, I complimented a robin’s-egg-blue toaster in her kitchen. Turns out it’s from the British company Dualit, it was designed for heavy-duty crumpet-crisping in hotels and restaurants, and she picked it up at Sur La Table on Clybourn. It was also, gulp, over $300. My Pop-Tarts usually warm up in a decidedly more low-rent oven, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it over the next few days. I did a little shopping around, and before long this sexy red two-slot version was hanging out with my KitchenAid mixer on the countertop. I bought mine at Cooking.com for about $240, and every day it makes me smile. I love how solid and simple it is, and the manual lever means muffins keep warm until you’re ready for them. For my sister’s birthday, I gifted her with the same version in pink. (She lives in Boston—does that make us bi-toastal?)
—BRADLEY LINCOLN