cybercat wrote:
> Going tomorrow for the first time to take a look at the hams and turkeys. (I
> am doing Thanksgiving dinner this year.) They have butterballs for $1.29 a
> pound, and Smithfield hams, too. Shanks (1.19 a lb) and butts (1.29 a lb).
> No idea what the difference is.
>
> I see they carry what they call "private" brands. Any items particularly
> good in these Aldi brands?
>
> I know I have to take my own bags and a quarter for the cart rental.
> Anything else?
Their big plastic shopping bags are commodious and cost a quarter, and
as A VERY STYLISH FAG I think they are nicely designed (as opposed to
the old ones that seemingly every homeless person carried...). FYI:
Go here for their current sales flyer:
http://www.aldifoods.com
There has been a long discussion of Aldi on LTH Forum, a local Chicago
food board, here is the URL for the thread and some comments I've
copied, HTH:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=6661
"aldi is no small mom and pop shop -- see:
http://www.familybusinessmagazine.com/topglobal.html (#15)
ALDI Group (15)
Albrecht/Essen, Germany
Industry: Food retailing
Revenues: $30 billion
Employees:
www.aldi.com
ALDI (short for "Albrecht Discounts") is Europe's top private-label,
deep-discount food retailer, with 6,100 stores worldwide, including
3,100 in Germany and some 670 in the U.S. Co-founders Theo and Karl
Albrecht own the company; Theo's sons Theo Jr. and Berthold run
European division..."
-----------------------
"I now do my regular shopping at Ultra Foods in Forest Park, but
before that I did as much as possible at the Aldi on Harlem at about
18th St. As noted, the selection is very limited (and you can't get
Diet Coke--or any name brand pop/soda --which always meant I had to at
least stop in somewhere else) but the prices are very good. It's not
just 20 or 30 cents better either. Many many things there are a dollar
or more cheaper than they are at Jewel. The things I nearly always buy
when I'm there include saltines, all-purpose flour, sugar, vegetable
oil, butter, rice mixes, chicken and beef broth, napkins, bath soap,
bleach, bananas, oranges, peppers (usually a four pack of two green, a
yellow, and a red for $1.99) , cran-apple juice, generic cool-whip,
whole chicken, ground turkey, and batteries. They may not carry brand-
name pop, but they nearly always have 4 packs of fresh AA or AAA
Duracell batteries near the check-out for $1.99. Back when Ed lived on
frozen pizza, they had good brands at great prices..."
----------------------------------
"I was never much of an Aldi's fan. However, I find myself dropping in
a lot more often. They have really upgraded a LOT of their private
labels and have added fresh meats in a number of their stores. There
is a lot of stuff that I will not generally buy there - like most
fresh vegetables - but I give them a lot of credit because they are
trying a lot of new items as opposed to doing the same old things the
way they always have..."
----------------------------
"I have shopped at Aldi in Arlington Heights & Mt. Prospect for a few
years now and am a fan. Once you get their system down (carts,
bringing bags, grabbing boxes etc.) you will save time & $$$. Because
the offerings are primarily private label, you don't get caught up in
needing to make many decisions. Dairy is really nicely priced, as
mentioned in previous posts canned goods are a great deal. I do shop
at Trader Joe's too and love their frozen bagged harts vericots
(priced 1.99) now Aldi has them for I think 1.49 and the taste is the
same. I have recently tried the jarred premium salsas (1.49 or so )
and found them to be just as tasty as the $5 Harry & David ones in my
pantry..."
--------------------------
"Hubby and I used to think that we were "too good for Aldi", but now
we're hooked. They've got wonderful European-style chocolates that are
some unrecognizable brand that put any store-bought Hershey/Mars/
whatever to shame. Good quality and very inexpensive.
We recently had some of our foodie friends over for a bbq. They were
raving about the food, and I let the secret behind our bbq ribs and
shrimp slip. Oh my, Aldi! They were surprised. We've enjoyed lamb,
other pork products, and fancy sausage products. The cheese is also a
good find. I have some of their very reasonably priced cornish hens in
my freezer, very anxious to try those, too.
Like many stores, Aldi is better for certain things and not best for
everything, but you quickly learn. Don't go in looking for any
particular produce items, except maybe bananas.
Cash/debit only, but Aldi stretches your dollars. Plus, the experience
is pretty interesting...."
---------------------------------
"I have to tell ya, I'm at ALDI like once a week, at least. Here are
some of my regular/favorite things to purchase:
gourmet cheeses - they have a really good selection of monterey jack
cheeses. There's a pesto, jalepeno, mushroom and leek, and they have a
havarati dill that's pretty good too.
egg substitute
eggs
the chocolate, as others have mentioned
frozen veggies
real veggies (hit or miss on this one)
gourmet bacon - peppercorn and maple flavors
sliced deli and shredded cheeses
whole wheat bread
nuts
evoo
triscuit-like crackers
AND OTHER STUFF YOU HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR...
What I mean by that last bullet is other non-food items that will end
up there somehow. For example, we bought a hallway storage bench,
which was made of real-wood; actually good quality stuff for like $70.
I looked up comparable benches and they were usually in the $200
range. We always get compliments on it. They have a weekly flyer that
shows you what will be there the following week. BE CAREFUL though.
Sometimes the stuff really isn't cheaper than other stores. You'll
know when you see it..."
-----------------------------------
"I also go to Aldi every week for at least part of my grocery list.
Besides the items The Sleeve mentioned, I buy the fruit & grain bars
for Science Boy's lunches, the instant oatmeal, German beer (their 12-
pack contains 4 each of three different beers that SB quite likes),
orange juice (the "not from concentrate" stuff), grape tomatoes,
mangoes, sweet corn (not as fab as fresh, locally grown, but pretty
darned good!), ground beef, and -- SB's personal favorite -- pot pies.
Mind you, I am opposed to packaged pot pies in general because of the
high sodium/calories/price, but these are identical to the Marie
Callender pies he loves but *way* cheaper! (Though now that I'm done
working nights for a while, I probably won't be buying any for a
spell.) They do have name brand items on sale from time to time (just
got Skinny Cow ice cream cones for $1.50/box vs. $4-5/box) and
sometimes non-food items (as previously mentioned). The only item I
ever bought there that I was *not* happy with was a rice cooker. It
broke about 3 minutes into cooking our rice. I didn't have the receipt
anymore, but the manager let me exchange it for a new one anyway. That
one broke, too, so I just tossed it. Other than that, though, no
problems for me there..."
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