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ALDI. I finally joined the cult. (1 Viewer)

pollardsvision

Footballguy
It took way longer than it should for me, and I know many of you have been in the know for a very long time. But man, this place is so awesome. 

I appreciate a good value, but mostly I appreciate an efficient shopping experience and a company cutting out a lot of useless frill to pull it off.  Especially their barcode game. I'm normally a self checkout man, and I take barcodes seriously. Aldi is the only store I've ever been to where the cashiers might be more efficient than self-checkout, and the 20 big ugly barcodes on every package certainly help. And I always appreciate a small, focused staff. I don't like shopping at stores where they seem to have 800 employees and not a one paying attention. 

I had to get sold on the beer to become an official convert. If it's gonna be a regular stop for me, it's gotta have good beer at a good price. Very few of my grocery trips don't involve beer and I'm not making an extra stop. The $6.99 IPA and Session IPA 6-packs are a great price and pretty solid. Without that, I'd probably skip it, honestly. And for the wife and niece, the cheap Blue Moon and Seltzer knockoffs come in handy too (seriously, the Seltzer's are a dirt cheap unicorn). 

Anyway, I'm in love. What are the favorite buys for you Aldi vets? 

 
Their organic stuff is really good too. We do a large amount of our shopping there. Saves us a ton.

 
It took way longer than it should for me, and I know many of you have been in the know for a very long time. But man, this place is so awesome. 

I appreciate a good value, but mostly I appreciate an efficient shopping experience and a company cutting out a lot of useless frill to pull it off.  Especially their barcode game. I'm normally a self checkout man, and I take barcodes seriously. Aldi is the only store I've ever been to where the cashiers might be more efficient than self-checkout, and the 20 big ugly barcodes on every package certainly help. And I always appreciate a small, focused staff. I don't like shopping at stores where they seem to have 800 employees and not a one paying attention. 

I had to get sold on the beer to become an official convert. If it's gonna be a regular stop for me, it's gotta have good beer at a good price. Very few of my grocery trips don't involve beer and I'm not making an extra stop. The $6.99 IPA and Session IPA 6-packs are a great price and pretty solid. Without that, I'd probably skip it, honestly. And for the wife and niece, the cheap Blue Moon and Seltzer knockoffs come in handy too (seriously, the Seltzer's are a dirt cheap unicorn). 

Anyway, I'm in love. What are the favorite buys for you Aldi vets? 
You're the guy with 500 items in self-checkout and slow as hell.  :wall:

 
It took way longer than it should for me, and I know many of you have been in the know for a very long time. But man, this place is so awesome. 

I appreciate a good value, but mostly I appreciate an efficient shopping experience and a company cutting out a lot of useless frill to pull it off.  Especially their barcode game. I'm normally a self checkout man, and I take barcodes seriously. Aldi is the only store I've ever been to where the cashiers might be more efficient than self-checkout, and the 20 big ugly barcodes on every package certainly help. And I always appreciate a small, focused staff. I don't like shopping at stores where they seem to have 800 employees and not a one paying attention. 

I had to get sold on the beer to become an official convert. If it's gonna be a regular stop for me, it's gotta have good beer at a good price. Very few of my grocery trips don't involve beer and I'm not making an extra stop. The $6.99 IPA and Session IPA 6-packs are a great price and pretty solid. Without that, I'd probably skip it, honestly. And for the wife and niece, the cheap Blue Moon and Seltzer knockoffs come in handy too (seriously, the Seltzer's are a dirt cheap unicorn). 

Anyway, I'm in love. What are the favorite buys for you Aldi vets? 
Love Aldi.

Some top items for us in addition to staples (milk, eggs)

1) Salmon

2) Skirt steak (this is really good)

3) Clancy's chips (jalapeno especially)

4) 4 cheese risotto packets

5) Casarecce pasta

6) Ice cream (extreme moose tracks is quite good)

7) Scallops (exceptional price and tasty)

😎 Mussels (also exceptionally priced)

 
Love Aldi.

Some top items for us in addition to staples (milk, eggs)

1) Salmon

2) Skirt steak (this is really good)

3) Clancy's chips (jalapeno especially)

4) 4 cheese risotto packets

5) Casarecce pasta

6) Ice cream (extreme moose tracks is quite good)

7) Scallops (exceptional price and tasty)

😎 Mussels (also exceptionally priced)
I've tried the salmon. Great deal. I didn't know they had skirt steak. I'll be on the lookout for that. 

 
pollardsvision said:
I've tried the salmon. Great deal. I didn't know they had skirt steak. I'll be on the lookout for that. 
Where we are, sometimes as low as $5.49/lb. Usually $7.49/lb.

Simple recipe. Pound it with a meat tenderizer. Sea salt. Cast iron pan blazing hot. No oil or anything else. One minute 45 seconds on each side. Done.

I make fresh chimichurri to eat with it (can share my recipe if interested). It's so good and so fast/easy.

 
Their Irish Cheddar - Vintage block cheese is fantastic. Most of their regular 8 oz block cheese are terrible though.

Sea Salted Almonds and Cocoa Dusted Almonds.

Their Nature Sweet Grape Tomatoes are a good buy. Most of their produce is pretty cheap and reasonably consistent.  Not a huge selection though and they run out of stuff.  I usually Instacart from them early Saturday and then set up a Publix order late Saturday. Whatever they're out of I just add to the Publix order.

 
DA RAIDERS said:
The one by us, is nasty. Paying for a cart, was a turn off as well. 
 

no thanks
You get the quarter back when you return the cart.

But you have to buy the bags to put the groceries in.

 
Meh. Wasn’t impressed. The whole having to use a quarter to use a shopping cart is annoying. Secondly—I wasn’t impressed with their overall variety of products.  I gave Aldi maybe 5-6 tries to see if the shopping experience would grow on me—and it never did. I pretty much found myself only buying eggs and milk there and having to go to other grocery stores to get the other groceries that I needed. 

 
Scallops

Tiger shrimp

Blue corn tortilla chips

Pineapple pablano guac

Specialty olives

Jalapeño artichoke dip

 
Big fan of their peanut butter cups. Our Aldi being at an inconvenient location across town has been very good for my health.

 
I'm a fan in general for an occasional shopping trip.  However - and I'm not sure how this happens - 90% of the time when I walk in, there are 2 checkout lines open with maybe one person in each line.  I never take too long, but by the time I finish up, each line has 3 or 4 people waiting with full carts. Almost every time. It's weird.

 
Yes please. Thanks. 
1 cup parsley/1 bunch (chopped)

3/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4-5 garlic (chopped)

Red pepper flakes (to taste, just a little)

Just mix all of the above together. It's best after it sits overnight.  While you can use a food processor, I prefer to chop the parsley myself even if I'm making 2-3x the amount above. 

Looks like this. I put it in a jar to keep.

 
You get the quarter back when you return the cart.

But you have to buy the bags to put the groceries in.
We bring our own bags everywhere. CA.

I’m still not go8ng through that nonsense to get a cart. 

And our costco, now has self check out. It’s awesome.  

 
Their Irish Cheddar - Vintage block cheese is fantastic. Most of their regular 8 oz block cheese are terrible though.

Sea Salted Almonds and Cocoa Dusted Almonds.

Their Nature Sweet Grape Tomatoes are a good buy. Most of their produce is pretty cheap and reasonably consistent.  Not a huge selection though and they run out of stuff.  I usually Instacart from them early Saturday and then set up a Publix order late Saturday. Whatever they're out of I just add to the Publix order.
I got drunk and housed some of the white sharp cheddar with the knockoff Triscuits last night. I can't remember if it was any good, but the block appears to be gone. 

Also tried some of the brats. I do remember that. Really good, and a great deal at $6.50 for 12 of them. 

 
Scallops

Tiger shrimp

Blue corn tortilla chips

Pineapple pablano guac

Specialty olives

Jalapeño artichoke dip
As far as dips, I like the Buffalo cauliflower dip but they’ve been out of it in my area the last few weeks. Good paired with raw vegetables. I like that guacamole too although I’ve been getting the sweet and spicy one (pineapple-jalapeño). I like to spread it on whole wheat toast.

 
They’re pretty good, though I prefer one stop shopping for groceries that isn’t Walmart(here in FL, Publix is a good option). Aldi has a limited selection, but my wife handles grocery shopping anyway, and she has a system in place. I’m the muscle bringing stuff in when she’s done.

 
We bring our own bags everywhere. CA.

I’m still not go8ng through that nonsense to get a cart. 

And our costco, now has self check out. It’s awesome.  
It's not nonsense. It's pretty easy and straightforward. I keep a quarter in my car for Aldi. Walk to the store (like you do anyway), stick a quarter in, cart is yours. Do your shopping, bring groceries to your car, walk the cart back to the front of the store, get your quarter back. 

As pointed out, no carts all over the parking lot, car doesn't get hit, pretty simple and efficient. Far from "nonsense".

ETA -- Their pancake mix is also fantastic. Just mix with water and they are TASTY!

 
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🤣. We must cart shame pretty well here in CA. 🤣.  Plus, we have aggressive employees,  corralling them all the time. 

Maybe, I’ll give it another shot. I despise carrying change in my pockets. 

 
🤣. We must cart shame pretty well here in CA. 🤣.  Plus, we have aggressive employees,  corralling them all the time. 

Maybe, I’ll give it another shot. I despise carrying change in my pockets. 
In an indirect way, you’re paying those employees to corral carts. Not at Aldi. 
 

Also, no reason to put the quarter in your pocket.

 
In an indirect way, you’re paying those employees to corral carts. Not at Aldi. 
 

Also, no reason to put the quarter in your pocket.
I’d rather the special needs dude, that gets the carts, has a job. 

So carry the quarter in my hand?  Have you ever smelled a handful of change?  Played slots?  Change is disgustingly filthy. 

 
I’d rather the special needs dude, that gets the carts, has a job. 

So carry the quarter in my hand?  Have you ever smelled a handful of change?  Played slots?  Change is disgustingly filthy. 
He has a job. You going to Aldi doesn't take his job away.

You only need one quarter. I keep one in my car specifically for Aldi. I get out of the car, grab the quarter, hold it in my hand for the 20 seconds it takes to walk to the store, put it in the cart. After putting groceries in my car, bring the cart back, quarter back in my hand, put it in the same spot in my car until next I go to Aldi.

 
Used to go to Aldi often when I lived in the Midwest.

Now the closest one to me (Seattle) is in central California.

:sadbanana:

 
eoMMan said:
Great place for some stuff. It's perfect if you don't mind stopping at a couple places.
Yeah, you're almost always going to need to make another stop if shopping here. At least mine, is very limited. No way it's a place I can get everything I need there and it isn’t special enough in any way to spend time there imo

 
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Meh. Wasn’t impressed. The whole having to use a quarter to use a shopping cart is annoying. Secondly—I wasn’t impressed with their overall variety of products.  I gave Aldi maybe 5-6 tries to see if the shopping experience would grow on me—and it never did. I pretty much found myself only buying eggs and milk there and having to go to other grocery stores to get the other groceries that I needed. 
Thank you for saving me from trips 2-6.

 
We moved to Northern Virginia a couple of years ago and were introduced to Aldi’s cousin Lidol. We did Aldi all the time in Ohio but my wife prefers Lidol now. Lidol is a bit more convenient in location for us than Aldi but I think she still prefers Lidol overall. 
 

Same concept. Both German companies. I’ve heard rumors that it might be disgruntled brothers or some type of relationship. 

 
Have one 15 minutes from my home, had never been there.

Went today with my granddaughter after reading this thread.

A woman that I parked next to gave me her cart so I didn’t have to figure out how to get one

Bread and rolls were near door, looked for some type of long roll for sausage sandwiches. They somehow only had hot dog rolls. Produce was next. Was picked over and not appetizing. Checked out the margarine next because it was on my list, didn’t recognize any of the brands.

Left my cart at the end of an aisle and we headed to Wegmans 

 
Have one 15 minutes from my home, had never been there.

Went today with my granddaughter after reading this thread.

A woman that I parked next to gave me her cart so I didn’t have to figure out how to get one

Bread and rolls were near door, looked for some type of long roll for sausage sandwiches. They somehow only had hot dog rolls. Produce was next. Was picked over and not appetizing. Checked out the margarine next because it was on my list, didn’t recognize any of the brands.

Left my cart at the end of an aisle and we headed to Wegmans 
We have an aldis in our town.  Same type experience.   It sucks and I won't go back

 
Have one 15 minutes from my home, had never been there.

Went today with my granddaughter after reading this thread.

A woman that I parked next to gave me her cart so I didn’t have to figure out how to get one

Bread and rolls were near door, looked for some type of long roll for sausage sandwiches. They somehow only had hot dog rolls. Produce was next. Was picked over and not appetizing. Checked out the margarine next because it was on my list, didn’t recognize any of the brands.

Left my cart at the end of an aisle and we headed to Wegmans 
Margerine??  

 

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