Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

The next time you go shopping for kitchen appliances you might want to consider a finish other than stainless steel, glossy black or chrome. Of course color can be a dangerous thing in the wrong hands, but the Bistro line of toasters from Bodum come in one of 8 different colors that manage to be bright and cheerful but not blindingly tacky. And it’s no slouch when it comes to being a toaster either with 900 watts of power to perfectly brown your bread or bagel, adjustable slots, a pop-up warming rack and a heat-resistant rubber exterior that stays cool to the touch and is easy to clean. $79.95 from Sur La Table.

[ Bodum Bistro 2-Slice Toaster ] VIA [ The Kitchen ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Whether you’re really unskilled at BBQ’ing, or have just always wanted a pair of tongs with a built-in LCD display, these digital BBQ tongs look like a half-decent accessory for what little there is left of Summer. Sensors in the tip measure the meat’s internal temperature and sound an alarm when it’s ‘done’ according to one of the seven meat-type presets you’ve selected. It of course also includes a built-in LED flashlight for grilling in the dark or during a solar eclipse, and runs off 2xAAA batteries which are actually included. $39.98 from Taylor Gifts.

[ Digital BBQ Tongs ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Will mankind ever run out of stick-like objects that can easily be turned into light sabers? I certainly hope not. The latest distinctly non-Star Wars item to get the light saber treatment are these Chop Sabers, or light saber chop sticks from Kotobukiya which were apparently shown off at their booth at this year’s Comic Con. The Chop Sabers come in adult sizes (9-inches long) featuring Darth Vader’s and Luke Skywalker’s sabers, as well as a shorter ‘kid-friendly’ set (8-inches long) fashioned after Yoda’s. They won’t hit stores until 2010 I’m afraid, and pricing info has yet to be announced.

[ Kotobukiya - Star Wars merges with Japanese culture: Lightsaber Chopsticks! ] VIA [ JapanStarWars.com ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Here at OhGizmo! we’re fans of any device that includes the terms ‘breakfast’ and ‘automatic’ as part of its feature set, but I don’t think any of us would have ever believed our dreams and childish crayon sketches of an automatic pancake machine would ever come true. But here we are! The ChefStack is only as big as a microwave oven but is able to autonomously cook up and spit out up to 200 pancakes every hour. That’s like 0.05 pancakes every second!

It does use its own proprietary pancake batter though that comes in special nozzled bags which makes the whole automatic pancake dream possible, but hey, we’ve brought you similar pancake innovations before that turned out to be not so bad. In fact the only downsides I can see to the ChefStack is the $3,500 price tag (plus the cost of batter) and the lack of an accompanying automatic syrup making machine.

[ ChefStack ] VIA [ Uncrate ]

By Andrew Liszewski

You know that look you get at work when you pull out the deep fryer for a quick afternoon pick me up? Well thanks to Deni your co-workers won’t even realize you’ve got a batch of fries cooking up in the filing cabinet thanks to their Mini Deep Fryer. It’s got a 1-quart capacity which is perfect for a single serving of french fries, a ready light letting you know when the oil is hot enough and a filter to eliminate odors so the entire office doesn’t know what you’ve got frying. Genius! And at $44.99 I can’t think of a better cubicle accessory.

[ Demi Mini Deep Fryer ] VIA [ Crave ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Grocery shopping is usually a disaster if I don’t come prepared with a list of what I need, which is why I like this grocery list organizer that remembers everything you’ve told it you’ve run out of throughout the week. The voice recognition system can interpret words as specific as swordfish or trash bags, and the 2,500 item database includes food, health and hygiene items and even office products. But you can expand that database with your own additions up to a maximum of 5,000 items.

The device can also maintain two different lists simultaneously, but it’s not only limited to items you need to buy. You can also keep track of things you need to do like going to the bank or taking your pup to the vet. And when it’s time to restock the pantry or deal with your ever-growing to-do list the organizer will print out a convenient pocket-sized list so you don’t forget anything. $99.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer.

[ Voice Recognition Grocery List Organizer ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Whether you find yourself deep in the woods on a camping excursion or at 30,000 feet on a long-haul flight you’ll never have to go without a cup of freshly brewed espresso again thanks to Stelton. Their Simply Espresso is a battery-powered thermos-sized contraption that will brew a cup of espresso no matter where you are. Just add water and one of the espresso packs, push the button and in no time flat you’ll have your caffeine fix. No pricing info at the moment, but it will supposedly be available sometime this Fall.

[ Stelton Simply Espresso ] VIA [ Acquire ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Before Rock Band, banging on pots and pans was the closest thing wanna-be drummers got to being a rock star. So these MIX STIX from Fred seem like such a logical synergy that you have to wonder why no one made the connection before. It’s a simple set of wooden spoons, perfect for whipping up your world-famous pasta sauce, but flip them around and you’ve got a bona-fide set of drumsticks for Gene Krupa-ing your way through the cupboards. Designed by Ignacio Pilotto & Jason Amendolara, the MIX STIX should be hitting the shelves of your local Urban Outfitters sometime this Fall.

[ MIX STIX ]

By Chris Scott Barr

These days people are all about being “green” and such. One good way to do your part for the environment is by recycling. For most people that consists of separating out glass bottles and aluminum cans from their trash. Well one company is taking those old bottles and turning them into something useful.

Green Glass Company specializes in something rather cool, turning old beer bottles into drinking glasses. They don’t have the largest selection of brands to choose from, but if you like Rolling Rock, Corona or a few others, then they’ll be happy to hook you up with some cool glassware. You can pick up a set of four for $32.50.

[ GreenGlass ] VIA [ RedFerret ]