Anyone shop at ALDI???

[rockyroad]

There are several Aldi's here and I have noticed that certain stores are cleaner than others.

I buy produce there.
It is usually much more affordable, especially for things like cukes and zucchini.
If you ask when they get their produce shipment in, then you can plan to be there the next day and get stuff while it is really fresh.

Ours is really quick to get into and out of.
My mom has trouble walking and she likes it because she can get what she needs without hiking around a huge store.

And I like paying for the use of a cart concept because the other stores always have carts all over that need to be picked up. Target the other day had carts blowing around and I saw some cars get hit by unattended runaway carts.

 

[MomtoMMKO]

My family LOVES their spaghetti sauce. It really is good!

 

[bavaria]

bag yourself is very European.. interesting.

I mentioned on the Walmart thread why Walmart failed miserably in Germany. One reason was that they had 'baggers' - Germans don't like strangers to touch our food! That actually was a big cultural issue and the concept of having someone place ones items in plastic bags offended many people.

I suppose that it is what we are used to, just as Americans may find it odd to pay for a shopping bag and bag their own items.

 

[kimsuenew]

We LOVE ALdi's and have shopped it for years! I will buy some frozen meat, we don't buy the lunch or fresh meat. The produce is a bargain! We get nearly all of ours there! The cereals, pastas, pretzels, jelly, mini marshmallows, nuts, cheeses, yougurts, milk, eggs, and canned goods are all great... you can't beat them! Sometimes they will even have name brand items at great values! They offer an unconditional money back guarantee so it is worth trying!

 

[paula70]

Aldi is known for their 'winking owl' wine. Beat some of the best in a CA taste test! Only $2.99 a bottle. I highly reccomend the chardonnay.

 

[HayGan]

I've seen alot of comments about the meat at Aldi's so I thought I would give my $.02 on that as well. We have actually been pretty happy with the meat we have gotten from Aldi's. We LOVE the hot & sweet frozen sausages. We also have had great luck with steaks, whole chickens and their burgers. They only thing that we have had that we didn't care for is their pork chops. The meat was good but the cut was really weird and they had alot of bones!

 

[disneymom3]

IKEA does have bags to use to carry items around in the store, but I have been to two recently in North America with signage that shopping bags to take your items from the store now cost money.

I don't know if that is North America wide, but I hope it does become a trend. I am used to carrying a larger bag while shopping for small purchases, and keep a sturdy plastic bag folded in the bottom for groceries, etc. Even in America I often decline a shopping bag and just put the items directly into my purse. Any little bit helps.

Actually in our city there are several stores that you bag your own groceries and it's just the norm. As a matter of fact, one of them sells really sturdy cardboard boxes with handles to put your groceries in adn I just take them to Aldi to pack up my groceries there too. The boxes are so much easier. You can put a lot more in them than a bag and they are easy to carry and haul into the house. And since they only cost me 99c over a year ago, I am doing pretty well!

 

[kathi29]

We don't have one around here, but when my parents come to visit my mom always brings me the Aldi's version of Nutella. Yummmmmm

 

[SCQ86]

I love the fact the store has reasonably priced items. I tend not to buy the meat or produce, but I do buy their canned items. Their speghetti O's and ravioli....the kids love and much cheaper than most stores. I really enjoy their version of twinkies better than the orginal twinkie brand....can't explain it. Their cheeses....great prices....got a wheel of brie this week for $1.99...can't beat that. But I'll tell you want is my favorite part of stopping in....their brand appliances are decent....not fantastic...but decent. I bought a nice 24 cup coffee maker for $5...you can't beat that. Got the small crock pot for $5 for my spinach artichoke dips and right now I'm waiting for the price to drop for the small chocolate fountain...For those prices for something I can pull out for the kids to use and enjoy...you can't beat the price.

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

We love their BBQ Potato Chips! YUM!!! We haven't shopped there in a while (about a year), but we're going back on a strict budget this year, so we'll be shopping there much more! But other things I remember being really good are: fudge bars, string cheese, black olives, green olives, and their chocolate donuts are very similar to Entenmann's donuts! We've stayed away from the produce. We drink skim milk, and never had a problem with their skim milk. DH LOVES their spaghetti sauce. The canned raviolli is pretty good.

Ok, I gotta stop here...I'm starting to get hungry talking about all this food!

 

[MerryPoppins]

I do some of my shopping there. I like their canned goods and staples. The produce at mine is good, but you need to eat it right away. If I'm buying something for several days later...it's better to go back and get it later. I've been very happy with the meat, but there isn't much variety. I didn't like the cubed ham though. We all thought it was rubbery. The regular ham has been fine. Go figure. I think the bread is okay, but again it might not last as long as other stores.

I try to go once every other week or so. I fill in at another grocery what I can't get at Aldi or if I prefer a different brand. I might run back to Aldi to get produce, but it's a quick in-and-out.

 

[Cindy B]

I don't know if that is North America wide, but I hope it does become a trend. I am used to carrying a larger bag while shopping for small purchases, and keep a sturdy plastic bag folded in the bottom for groceries, etc. Even in America I often decline a shopping bag and just put the items directly into my purse. Any little bit helps.

Now this is totally OT-- but when you said purse I was really suprised.

Somehow I thought the poster was a man! BUt then I thought, well European men do have those carry-alls that look like purses...

Just color me confused.

 

[bavaria]

Now this is totally OT-- but when you said purse I was really suprised.

Somehow I thought the poster was a man! BUt then I thought, well European men do have those carry-alls that look like purses...

Just color me confused.

Common mistake - apparently I am much more female in person than I appear on this website. Those who have actually met me do some PR work on my behalf convincing readers that I am female

I just don't use a lot of glitter and smilies online

 

[Plantlady]

I *love* aldi!

It saves us so much money. I shop there first, and then hit other stores, if I cannot find what I want. I've never been dissatisfied with a product there.

Well, my DH doesn't like their version of Dial soap, but, that doesn't count.

 

[my2boyzrock]

There is a new store open near me and I want to check it out. What foods/products should I avoid all together? How is the produce/meat?

Well, I hit ALDI today (HAYGAN, the new one in Northway Mall on McKnight Rd.) and must say, I was very pleased with what I walked away with. I spent $57.00 and got quite a bit of food...stuff I REALLY needed to stock up, like canned goods. I also got some of the Fit & Active products and I am eating the FFpudding right now, it is very tasty. I did get some tomatoes and bagged lettuce. After I went there, I hit my usual store to fill in what I couldn't get there. I will definitely be going back to ALDI!!
Thanks for all your input!

 

[HayGan]

Well, I hit ALDI today (HAYGAN, the new one in Northway Mall on McKnight Rd.) and must say, I was very pleased with what I walked away with. I spent $57.00 and got quite a bit of food...stuff I REALLY needed to stock up, like canned goods. I also got some of the Fit & Active products and I am eating the FFpudding right now, it is very tasty. I did get some tomatoes and bagged lettuce. After I went there, I hit my usual store to fill in what I couldn't get there. I will definitely be going back to ALDI!!
Thanks for all your input!

Glad you liked it! I think you will be pleased with the quality fo their foods & the savings you get by shopping there!

I didn't know that they were putting one in at Northway. I sometimes head up McNightmare at lunch to run errands. I'll have to keep that one in mind!

 

[breick]

I'm checking out the budget board right now on the laptop computer i bought at Aldi!

 

[tomthebarncat]

This is one of my favorite stores but what they sell in Germany is very different then what is sold in the states. I have never bought meat but there dairy stuff is fine, produce is always fresh and reasonably priced. My DH loves the house brand of fresh ravioli with spinach and salmon. Their prices on pasta cannot be beat. I try to buy as much at the base commisary due to the horrible exchange rate, but somethings are still much cheaper on the economy. Italian made pasta and ravioli is basically the one item that I buy there regularly as it is very good and affordable. I also picked up an amazing wine set a few years ago for my DH x-mas gift. When he opened it and looked at the fancy corks, wine thermostat, and cork screw, and the real wooden box, he was really inmpressed. I was pleasantly surprised as all of the items in it were manufactored in Germany. Not bad for 15 Euro and he loves it as much as the Reidl wine glasses I got him for our anniversary! We are cheap wine snobs and never buy anything that cost more than 5 euros a bottle, actually I tend to pick bottle that have labels that I like.