OT: question for Aldi's shoppers

[sherry7899]

Donna - I live in NJ near the border of PA. That must be why the Wegmans and Trader Joe's near me in Princeton get such crowds in the liquor aisles!

Sue- thanks for the thread tags.

Cheri- that is great you save so much on groceries.

[Rhonda]

I am another been in Aldi's twice and won't got back. Produce rotting, floors dirty, just wasn't a clean place.

Like others here I have heard rave comments about it so it would be nice if they were consistent.

No problem with liquor/beer/wine, you can buy that pretty much anywhere here.

When visiting my sister in MD, it was hard because hubby wanted some beer and rum and we had to go to two different stores. Went for beer and asked about Rum they said oh you need a liquor store for that. Totally not used to having to go several places for drinks.

[yogapam]

We don't have Aldi up here in Canada, but I shopped there when we were in Europe in the summer. I found a big difference between stores, some were clean, organized & had a good selection, others not so much. The produce section was always small with a limited selection. The prices were good though.

[LynnO]

Aldi's is no Trader Joes for sure. It is a generic based grocery story where staples can be bought for a good price.

If you would never buy the generic brand of something, I'd suggest not getting that product at Aldi's.

I buy on somewhat regular basis:
generic potato chips, for just around a dollar, I don't even eat the whole bag sometimes, same with popcorn and other salty snacks
Trail mixes
Beer
Eggs
Cheese- but not staples like cheddar- they cycle through specialty cheeses
I don't use dairy products but my family used to eat their yogurt without complaint
Frozen gourmet pizzas- ok prices <<< too many of these
Croutons
Veggies, fresh and frozen
Bagged chopped salad
Fruit in season only
Onions, sweet potatoes
Grass fed beef
Name brand "natural" chicken (forget what this label means)
They also sell coarsely ground beef- not burger- that I really like
Specialty buys of name brand products if interested.

Do not like
Three bean salad
Generic cheese (cheddar)
Generic cheetos
Hamburger- had no flavor
Canned vegetables except corn

And, not everything is a bargain including baked goods- and the baked goods they do carry generally aren't that good.

[nyskier]

Hi Sherry-

I like Aldi, but don’t generally buy meat there, though I roasted a whole chicken from there (the one in the green trim package), and it was delicious.

Produce is hit or miss- they don’t have everything. You might find carrots but not eggplant, for example.

The chips are too salty, but I like their crackers, and that chocolate is to die for.

Their in-house brands (eg, pasta sauces) are chosen after testing against two other competitors, so I think they do well there.

The coffee is good, but fairly mild. Not too good for those who like Starbucks, for example.

Spices are good and cheap, as is flour, sugar, butter and most anything else you need for baking.

[bfit]

There is one where my Dad lives, he shops there, and I've been there a couple of times with him. I think the main attraction is low prices. Compared to other stores they don't have a lot of different products in the store - very little variety. Most of the brands were not recognizable to me.

[nyskier]

Aldi and Trader Joe’s were owned by German brothers. One had Aldi Nord that included Trader Joe’s, and the other had Aldi stores. You will see things in Aldi much like Trader Joe’s, though they don’t have as many specialty items.

[nyskier]

I forgot to mention, if you like German specialty items like stollen, muesli, Advent calendars, etc., they have it.

[DCW]

I like the store and I buy basics, e.g. oil, milk, eggs, etc. Each store has its own vibe. But I appreciate a small store for basic stuff. Veggies and fruit quality varies. I hate walking a mini marathon when I only want a few items.

It's specialty items, chocolates, cookies are too good. Actually too good.

[ardnas]

We have several Aldi's close by and they are disgusting - very dirty, worse than Walmart, never stocked, clean, or organized. I hate that they are set up like a maze - you can only walk one way throughout the store and can not grab one item and go to register, due to how the aisles are. They recently built a new one down the road and I went to see what it was like because it was supposed to be their fancy new town and country design - and I will say it looks nice, is much larger, so far is organized & stocked, but aside from that, the things I bought (again) were just not worth it. Spices seems stale (I prefer Penzey's!), baked goods bland and didn't taste fresh despite looking good, produce turning, etc. The Indian sauce I tried tasted good but was full of excessive salt, sugar, chemicals-my bad for not reading the label. That said their garbage bags were fine, in the past I've purchased a patio umbrella and at least 6 large outdoor planters and they have held up very well. Their eggs and frozen foods were disgusting and off tasting and the few plants I purchased died much sooner than others purchased elsewhere.

*I do give them huge props though for adding a Vegan page & guide on their website. If you click on the guide it lists the barcodes, name, and size of every Vegan product in their store! Since going WFPB, I find this very cool and hope more stores would do the same!*