Pop-Tarts sushi bar.

As if Times Square wasn’t crowded enough…

On August 10^th, New York City was introduced to “Pop-Tarts World.” Apparently Pop-Tarts have gone beyond the simple toaster snack. The store is on 42^nd Street between 6^th and Broadway (right near Bryant Park) and the menu will serve (according to the New York Times):

“Fluffer Butter, marshmallow spread sandwiched between two Pop-Tarts frosted fudge pastries; the Sticky Cinna Munchies, cinnamon rolls topped with cream-cheese icing and chunks of Pop-Tarts cinnamon-roll variety; and Ants on a Log, which is celery, peanut butter and chunks of the Wild Grape version.”

Not to mention Pop-Tart sushi. Wait, come again?

Three kinds of Pop-Tarts minced and then wrapped in a fruit roll-up.

Just like your average California roll.

In addition to food, Pop-Tarts World (according to Gothamist) will have many interactive features.

A multi-sensory café serving a variety of Pop-Tarts toaster pastries, as well as exclusive Pop-Tarts-inspired snacks, assorted bakery items and custom ice cream creations

A ‘varietizer’ machine, which allows shoppers to build their own customized box of Pop-Tarts toaster pastries to take home

A custom T-shirt creation station

A touch screen video stations that provide interactive entertainment and access to social media portals

The world of Pop-Tarts has clearly changed since I was a kid. The biggest change? Now there is a world for Pop-Tarts.

Thoughts on this new NYC establishment?

Photo credit: Gothamist

The current design of the Transparent Toaster

Recently, I came across a design for a transparent toaster.   Certainly one of the less versatile kitchen appliances, I was intrigued.  Would a more intriguing conceptualization make the toaster more interesting?

This product, being designed by the “Inventables” company, features two glass plates connected to a base, with a slot in between them to place the bread. Currently, the best models so far have not been able to heat the glass plates strongly enough to actually toast the bread, however, the company is positive that they will be able to achieve toastiness in the future, possibly with the incorporation of heated wires (like those that regular toasters already use) in the design to help toast the bread.

Alternate design, incorporating the heating wires

This toaster design concept has been met with both positive and negative criticism. It’s main advantage is that you can see what color your toast is at all times, so you never have to worry about whether your toast will pop up as a charcoal briquette. Also, it has an incredibly sleek design (some have jokingly dubbed it the iToast).

In addition, much to the love of toaster “purists” I suppose, it will keep the “popping” action that makes a toaster, well a toaster. Finally, the glass plates will be insulated, so that there will be no possibility of anyone burning themselves by touching the outside glass plates.

However, a number of issues have been raised with the design. First of all, the issue of convenience has been raised by many. First of all, it has been pointed out that watching your toast constantly, as this product allows you to do, is terribly time consuming and detracts from the convenience of owing a toaster in the first place. However, this issue is largely not important, because the product will surely be fitted with a timer, so continuous vigilance isn’t necessary. Instead, the glass will just allow you to check on your toast from time to time.

Unfortunately, the much bigger problem of convenience is its size. The toaster can only fit one slice of bread at a time, compared to the four slices that a regular toaster can hold. So if you’re looking to feed toast to three hungry kids, it would be much easier to stick to a regular toaster. In addition, it was pointed out that after a couple uses, bread crumbs would get caught in the plates and look unsightly, but that’s not a major problem.

Overall, its a good idea with a couple issues that would soon be fixed, like any new idea. The only question is whether it will be worth the price. After all, this new and innovative toaster will likely be pretty price compared to your average toaster.

So, for all its pros and cons, will it be worth the price tag? I suppose only time will tell. In any case, keep your eyes out for this new product in the coming months, for it could either be the next big thing in the home appliance industry, or a complete commercial flop.