My father picked one of these
grills up and became absolutely
fanatic about it. So fanatic, in fact, that it was the
Christmas present he sent this past year. Now,
technically, the name for the series of products is
George Foreman's Mean, Lean, Fat Reducing Grilling Machine. This despite a
study that claimed that the grill did not actually reduce
fat. They range from freestanding outdoor versions to versions that can barely fit two
hamburgers. Almost all of them are
electric (
jarsyl informs me that he has access to a propane version); some of them have added
gizmos like
bun warmers. (No, not
that kind of buns.)
The grill is nicely effective, particularly compared to things like pan frying a steak. The important thing is to make sure it has had time to heat up fully! While the light on the unit supposedly goes out when it's ready, I often give it a little longer, which seems to alleviate some of the trouble. I've also found it does better with marinaded meats and meats chopped up into small pieces, especially if you cover the entire grilling surface. A word to the wise: salmon steaks cooked on this grill taste good, but your next meal cooked on it will likely taste of salmon too, no matter how hard you try to clean it. Also, jarsyl comments that BBQ sauces that normally drip down in a grill simply collect on the grill surface and char in a Foreman.
Cleaning the grill, we've found, is easiest if you place the grill to the side of your kitchen sink such that it would drain into the sink. Then take a teflon-safe scrubber and just scrub into the sink, wetting regularly with water. Some dish soap might be useful, but given that most of the remnants will be charred rather than greasy, is not the main tool for the job. (A garbage disposal is nice but unlikely to be necessary.)
The countertop-sized Foreman Grills can substitute for a full-size grill if you don't have space, particularly in an apartment without a balcony or porch. Even so, that makes it one more thing to fit in the kitchen. If you like grilled food, though, it might be a good choice for you.