The Aldi Appreciation Thread

[SoleGoose | 95]

I must have done something right, because the wife brought home some black truffle triple cream brie tonight from Aldi. It has quickly become our favorite place to shop, whether for staples or for the special buys. I enjoy something about the whole seasonal nature of what they offer, and it feels like there is always something new as opposed to just the same old stuff that I see at other stores 52 weeks a year. Anybody else have some Aldi love to share? Any personal favorites? Do you swap quarters in the parking lot? Anybody waiting in line outside the door tomorrow for the wine Advent calendar?

[the tall guy | 63]

It's where we always shop for groceries, one of my favorite stores in general.

[Gloves | 11,774]

What the hell is Aldi? 

[SoleGoose | 95]

Just now, Gloves said:

What the hell is Aldi? 

You would want to think it's like No Frills, but it's not. Don't be fooled.

[OptOut | 8,883]

1 minute ago, Gloves said:

What the hell is Aldi? 

Discount grocery store from Germany, very popular around Europe and has been getting bigger and bigger in the UK since around 2008.

Full of weird off-brand products, and strange people. Avoid.

[m308gunner | 352]

I want to like it. I do. They sometimes have great stuff (I could kill myself on their chocolate covered sea salt caramels), but the lack of selection is a killer. For instance, their egg and milk selections are very minimal, requiring another stop at another store. I just can't afford the extra trip/time nowadays. 

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

There's one by me, but I've never been to it when there's a Kroger on every street corner. Finding a Kroger in Cincinnati is almost as easy as a Starbucks in Seattle.

[Link | 2,709]

Aldi is awesome for basics and staples. The stores are smaller so they don’t have everything, it’s true. Like free range eggs. Or a good deli. But we fill up a cart and the stuff we get there costs half what it does in a “normal” supermarket. Basic produce, baking ingredients, snacks, bread, cans and jars... it’s good.

It used to be owned by the same company as Trader Joe’s, but the two brothers that owned it parted ways. 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Link
different sizes text

[AverageOliver98 | 719]

I really like Aldi. Aside from a few items, I'm able to buy most of my groceries there, plus whatever neat limited time buys that show up or 'we need these things gone' sales(6lb bag of Twix, 3M, Snickers, M&Ms, and MW for $5).

[RH | 4,903]

It’s worth going into Aldi for the Carolina Reaper Paste alone.

Aldi can be hit or miss. Don’t buy most of their produce if you’re not going to eat it in 48 hours—it will go bad. They mostly sell stuff they manufacture but not entirely.  Think generic brand stuff in super markets.  However, on occasion they have “boutique” brands which can be awesome and on even rare occasions the Aldi brand stuff is better than the alternatives. We get our staples from their but we do have to usually go a couple times a week but, again, it’s because the produce seems to be not at coated in preservatives (which is good, I guess) and will go bad if you don’t eat it quick enough.) we’ve definitely thrown out our sad share of tomatoes, spinach and bananas.

[empire | 106]

Do you even know what a Wawa is?!

[Alder | 243]

Love Aldi for good deals on things like nuts, meats, cheeses, and snacks, but it's never been my primary grocery store. They have these gluten free rosemary crackers that I bought on a whim once and ended up loving. I don't care about the gluten free aspect, I just think they taste good, so I'll buy a few bags of those when I stop. I know they were popular in my hometown for letting cashiers sit at the register and paying $10 an hour entry level, which has earned them good karma at least in my book.

[Alder | 243]

5 minutes ago, empire said:

Do you even know what a Wawa is?!

Like a Sheetz, but worse? 

[Gloves | 11,774]

19 minutes ago, empire said:

Do you even know what a Wawa is?!

 

[Link | 2,709]

26 minutes ago, empire said:

Do you even know what a Wawa is?!

Yeah, it’s like a 7Eleven 

[Sign Collector Guy | 334]

We had a joke growing up where we would say. Hey, do you like Aldi’s? (Yes). Aldi’s nuts in your mouth. 

 

But yes we like to shop there. 

[Hammerfestus | 3,833]

Real German beer you can’t find elsewhere.  Wernesgrüner in my tum.

[Boosted52405 | 178]

Aldi's is awesome, on a limited basis.

Fun fact - they are one of the highest ranked markets for baby stuff - diapers, formula etc.  Solid prices too, I only found Walmart to be somewhat close.

For processed stuff, they rock and are literally dirt cheap.  It was mentioned above as "half the cost" and it's not a joke - I can stock up on canned foods, frozen goods, cupboard type items - an entire cart full for like $60-75.

They have an extensive gluten-free section, including some crazy-good snickerdoodle cookies (I recommend and I can eat gluten).

They have surprisingly quality steaks air sealed at very fair prices.

Their produce/raw meats are decent - definitely good for shopping on a budget.

Their quarter for a cart system is pretty rad, until you show up without a quarter.  How many of us have a designated "Aldi's quarter" in our car?

Can usually be in and out in 30 minutes flat.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Boosted52405

[RH | 4,903]

FYI, here's the Carolina Reaper Paste.  Not as hot as you'd expect but it's pretty spicy and GREAT!

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

11 hours ago, Alder said:

Like a Sheetz, but worse? 

 

11 hours ago, Link said:

Yeah, it’s like a 7Eleven 

They all are meh compared to Quik Check for me

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

1 hour ago, Boosted52405 said:

Aldi's is awesome, on a limited basis.

Fun fact - they are one of the highest ranked markets for baby stuff - diapers, formula etc.  Solid prices too, I only found Walmart to be somewhat close.

For processed stuff, they rock and are literally dirt cheap.  It was mentioned above as "half the cost" and it's not a joke - I can stock up on canned foods, frozen goods, cupboard type items - an entire cart full for like $60-75.

They have an extensive gluten-free section, including some crazy-good snickerdoodle cookies (I recommend and I can eat gluten).

They have surprisingly quality steaks air sealed at very fair prices.

Their produce/raw meats are decent - definitely good for shopping on a budget.

Their quarter for a cart system is pretty rad, until you show up without a quarter.  How many of us have a designated "Aldi's quarter" in our car?

Can usually be in and out in 30 minutes flat.

Is this quarter thing you guys are talking about the thing that unlocks and holds your quarter captive in the cart until you bring it bavk to it's coral? We've had those at my local Shoprite simce the 90's

[Boosted52405 | 178]

10 minutes ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

Is this quarter thing you guys are talking about the thing that unlocks and holds your quarter captive in the cart until you bring it bavk to it's coral? We've had those at my local Shoprite simce the 90's

Lol yup!  Boggles my mind a bit because a homeless guy or a heathen could pay 25 cents for 1 (or many) carts - load em into the back of a truck and take off.  Actually surprised the peeps that sell metal for coin don't do it...

[Hmgbking | 0]

We usually begin our shopping excursion at our local Aldi for the packaged food essentials due to the savings (and still great quality). Then we go to the nearby Wal-Mart Neighborhood to conclude the trip for the rest of the food and necessities.

Usually we only need to go food shopping once a month.

[RH | 4,903]

3 hours ago, Boosted52405 said:

Lol yup!  Boggles my mind a bit because a homeless guy or a heathen could pay 25 cents for 1 (or many) carts - load em into the back of a truck and take off.  Actually surprised the peeps that sell metal for coin don't do it...

The reason why they don't do it is because many scrap yards will have rules in place to prevent this from happening.

Sort of related, I had a buddy in college who live near Buffalo, NY.  I have no idea if this is true but back then there was a Kodak 35mm manufacturing plant.  Supposedly silver was needed in the process, and within something like a 100-mile radius, jewelers and other scrappers wouldn't buy LARGE rough chunks of silver without first running it through Kodak.

The friend of mine who told me this story was generally trustworthy, but I wondered how true that was. Still, I've heard of other scrap yards having similar rules when specialty manufacturing was in certain locations.

Edited November 6, 2019 by RH

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

Aldi is like Costco except they have 4 aisles instead of 30.

But mostly I'm mad at them because I needed cold medicine while on a recent trip and they had none in their completely random selection of OTC drugs, so I had to go to real grocery store to get some.