Do you shop at Aldi's?

[Critters2]

There was this big discussion at my book club when someone said she bought her cookies at Aldi. A bunch of people said they wouldn't set foot in the place, and the host was clearly embarrassed. Me, I walk through Aldi once in a while (recently found vegan Boca Burgers there!), but can't find a lot of things I buy there. Like recycled paper products, organic stuff, etc. Still, I bought bocas and CFL bulbs there. And I know they don't contribute to the Repugs, like Kroger and Wal-Mart.

So, I'm wondering...Do you shop at Aldi?

[wildhorses]

1. i have before--fresh produce, cookies, crackers

that sort of thing--it has been a while since i have been there---

[Bjornsdotter]

2. Yes

They have great German chocolate bars and truffles.

Butter is usually about $1.79 a pound and cream cheese about 69 cents for 8 oz.

Cheers

[Nicole]

3. No

I have in the past, to try them out. They didn't have everything I wanted. Any savings from Aldi's was spent in gas going to a second store to finish my shopping.

[Zookeeper]

4. I checked them out one time....

but, noticed that they didn't allow the shopping carts to be pushed outside of the store. Seeing as I'm shopping for a family of five, that usually won't work for me. And that store wasn't close enough to casually drop by for a few items.

We have unusually nice grocery stores here in the Twin Cities, according to all of my visitors and from my experience in other parts of the country. One store even has chandeliers over the frozen food aisle...:D . The Aldi I visited did not compare at all favorably to our local stores.

[LTR]

17. Ahhh... Byerly's

I remember them when I lived in the TC. Also remember Lund's. Are they still around?

As for Aldi, the ones I've been to allow you to bring the cart to the car, but in order to get your quarter back, you need to park it yourself.

I go to Aldi once in a while. It used to have a really bad stigma, but they're starting to expand to the 'burbs here, even in the wealthier areas. It's not just for the poor people anymore (that would be Save-a-Lot) And I've been quite impressed with the stuff I've bought. They're best for boxed or canned goods, snacks (they even have their own versions of Wheat Thins and Triscuits for about a buck a box, and they're pretty damn good) and even some frozen meat like fish and chicken. I haven't been gutsy enough to buy any fresh fruit or veggies there yet, though the produce I buy at the local megamarket monopoly here goes bad within days anyway, so what's the difference?

I'm making an Aldi run this week (they're not too far from me, but not very convenient) to stock up. Prices are jaw-droppingly cheap. So, all in all, if you don't mind the somewhat spartan decor and blah atmosphere, it's not a bad place to stock up on the basics.

[Zookeeper]

22. Yes, Byerly's.....good memory!

Some Lund's are still around. The one off of 694 closed a few years ago. I think Lund's and Byerly's are owned by the same company now.

Rainbow was bought out by Milwaukee-based Roundy's. Those aren't doing too well and the one by Rosedale closed. Cub is everywhere! I never liked Cub that much, but there aren't many choices anymore to stock up on basics. The one near me has expanded its selection to include foods from India, China, Thailand, Mexico and northern and eastern Europe, so that's an improvement.

I am starting to look a lot more at buying food that has been produced and packaged as close to home as possible, to cut down on the fuel that's used in shipping. That is one of my concerns about Aldi's and some of the common products that Cub carries, like pickles, that come from eastern and central European countries and are cheaper than American products. I know that Aldi's is a German company, but have you noticed where their food is grown and packaged? (I really don't know.)

[SeattleGirl]

5. What's Aldi's?

:shrug:

[yewberry]

7. We don't have that store out here.

I looked at the store locations, and they seem to be just located in the east, sort of mid-atlantic states. Seems to be a Fred Meyer-kind of thing.

Dang, food is a whole lot cheaper out there.

[SeattleGirl]

8. Thanks, tofunut. That's what I thought.

Dang, so many things seem to be more expensive out this way.

[LTR]

18. They're in the midwest as well

I've seen Aldi in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota.

[FunkyLeprechaun]

6. Yes I do in the UK

I thought Aldi's was a UK store until I returned to home state (MN) for a holiday and saw it there! Aldi's is one of the cheaper alternatives around my part of the UK. I do like shopping there, but here are the things I won't do without:

Mouthwash: Aldi's version is quite weak so I go to Morrison's instead to get their brand strong mouthwash

Some fruit and veg: There are some good fruit and veg at Aldis but I'd rather go elsewhere for other fruit and veg

Aldi's here isn't as well stocked as the regular grocery stores so if I picked a recipe for dinner, I would only find three or four items at Aldi's that relate to my recipe. I would have to go to Morrisons or Sainsbury's for a more complete shopping experience.

[QMPMom]

9. Aldi's is a German company. DH reads about them in der Spiegel.

[sbj405]

10. Yep, Albrecht Brothers. Same co. that owns Trader Joe's. nt

[Critters2]

11. No kidding? For some reason, that really surprises me.

The German part, though, would explain why it's the only place around here where I can get stollen at Christmas time. In my family, it wasn't Christmas without stollen. But now that I live in an area with few German-Americans (most people here don't even know what it is); and my Mom's gone, I did some real searching for Christstollen last year. I'd given up, when I went into Aldi to get something. And there they were--TWO different kinds of stollen, one with a marzipan filling (yum!). Went back this year, and there they were again, and imported from Germany!

So, the German connection makes sense. But I didn't know they belonged to the same company as Trader Joe's. Interesting.

[tandot]

12. World Market / Cost Plus has Stollen and Lebkuchen (Ginger bread)

I buy all the German Christmas stuff there every Winter. Stollen with Marzipan ... YUMMY!

[Critters2]

16. I still have two in my freezer!! nt

[Nikia]

13. My step mother and father did when we were poor

I was the food snob who didn't appreciate most of the food that they got there. I thought that it tasted cheap. Of course, it was better than nothing, but I could tell the difference.
Now I hear that they do offer some regular brands. It might be worth checking out. The town that we live in doesn't have Aldi's though and neither do the closest bigger towns.

[SPKrazy]

14. I Haven't But I Want To Check Them Out

I just haven't made it to their store.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

15. I used to go there when I lived in Germany ...

I went to the one in my town (here in NC) a couple of weeks ago. The quality of the food from the Aldi I went to while living in Germany was better than the one in my town here ... something was off. It was crowded - only one cashier. And its just like the German ones. No plastic bags, you rent your cart with a coin , I took my cart to my car (as we did in Germany as well) but I used cardboard boxes to carry my groceries in the house.

[LTR]

19. It's BYOB

Then again, I noticed the same thing when I first shopped at Sam's Club. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy about that.

At least you can buy bags at Aldi for 5-10 cents each.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

21. While in Germany it meant for us Bring Your Own Basket ...

We always had this giant basket and other crates to put our food in. Somehow I did'nt think it would be like that here in the States but its all the same.

[krispos42]

20. Been there a couple of times

But it's the 'shopping twice to get all you need' thing that kind of killed it for me. I'm hesitent to use generic brands on some things, although their cold cuts and bread were good and inexpensive..

My big thing was the 'no credit cards' rule. Cash and carry. I would put my check in the bank early Friday morning (like, 3am), pick up my kid in the early afternoon and go shopping. But until my check cleared, I only could take out a hundred bucks in cash, plus whatever I had left in there from the previous check. Usually not much.

So now I've dropped most of my ready cash on food, leaving little for other expenses while I had my son. Not fun.