Replaced 15 year old grill/waffle maker which lost heat in the lower grill.  Wanted a grill with the waffle maker which is becoming more difficult as most manufacturers are producing units with grill/panini press.  Cuisinart offered the option of ordering a separate waffle plate (which we purchased).  Unit works great and is easy to use. Great that you can set the heat to what you want and the timer (which we did not have on our other unit) lets you time up or down so you know how long the food is on the grill.  Very pleased so far.