ok I'll try it

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.

kithat wrote:and I let the secret behind our bbq ribs and shrimp slip. Oh my, Aldi!

Did you get the shell-on, uncooked kind? I am so happy they've expanded their shrimp selection.

Funny you should mention the cornish hens - I just picked up two yesterday for Jimthebeerguy and myself.

I saw that Aldi has started selling bacon wrapped filets, and made a mental note to buy a few, but I completely forgot once I was inside the store.

You are right about the bananas. I don't think I've ever had a good banana from Aldi. They're good for shakes & banana bread, and that's about it.

They have a few European desserts on stock that are not too sweet. It's hard to find a dessert in America that isn't too sweet... (not that I mind; I have a raging sweet tooth).

I've been meaning to try the one on Golf road - maybe I'll go there next.

I love Aldi's ... frozen fruit -- vanilla bean ice cream at $2/1.75 liter ... BUT apropos the Shrimp -- with the last scare on Chinese shrimp, I checked the stuff I had in my freezer saw it was from China and tossed it ...

Aldi's also has (seasonally) a vidalia onion salad dressing which is lovely -- like it as well as the stuff I used to get at the farmer's market for $5/12 oz & its a quart for less than $3

Jeanne, I totally understand. I was an Aldi's snob,too. I've been living near one for the last 2 years and didn't set foot in it until a few months ago. I was pleased to find it has some really great products at great prices. It's wonderful having choices.

BTW, Trader Joe's (and CB2) replaced a Butera's at Lincoln and Grace.

You're spot on there, Apple. There's a lot of people out there that need to smarten up. Aldi is all about good quality products at competitive prices. Too many people think their neighbors will assume they are getting food stamps, or that they will have to stand in line with beggars or something. I've turned at least a half dozen people into Aldi shoppers who previously wouldn't have even considered stepping through the doorway. They don't have everything I need by a long shot, but what they do have saves me a lot of money that I can dump at Paulina, etc.

I was at the Dollar Store the other day checking out school supplies, and saw that they had small jars of generic Nutella. I thought to myself, "hey, Aldi has generic nutella that is good, so how bad can this be?"

Answer: BAD! It was awful! I put some on toast, threw the toast away mostly uneaten, and threw the jar away. It was that bad. But the Aldi nutella is great! Very comparable to the name brand Nutella.

FYI: Aldi will be opening a new store next to the new Binny's on Route 12 in Lake Zurich.

But the Aldi nutella is great! Very comparable to the name brand Nutella.

If Aldi's is anything like Trader Joe's (which, from reading this thread, it would seem they share a few characteristics ) -- I might suggest that perhaps some of the Aldi house brand items are actually brand-name items in disguise.

I had a friend who worked for a juice company who revealed to me that the Trader Joe's-brand juices they sell individually (for a 1/3 of the price) are the same product, but just packaged under the TJ's label. Didn't someone mention this in regards to those yummy Matt's cookies, too? That Aldi sells a "version" of Matt's cookies at their store under their house brand?

Anyway, this thread is very interesting, because it's helped elevate Aldi's from the Dollar Store of Grocery Stores status into an interesting place to shop.

Nora, that's certainly true!

Aldi now sells 100% whole wheat spaghetti. I tried it out today with leftover spaghetti sauce. It has a mild, smooth flavor. 12 0z. for 89 cents. There is another kind of pasta that is WW too...I think it was fusilli?

I've found the TJ's-> Aldi connection for a few packaged foods. The Au Gratin Potatoes are not too salty, especially for coming from a box and are an identical product. 99 cents at Aldi, 1.99 at TJ's

Saint Pizza wrote:I was at the Dollar Store the other day checking out school supplies, and saw that they had small jars of generic Nutella. I thought to myself, "hey, Aldi has generic nutella that is good, so how bad can this be?"

Answer: BAD! It was awful! I put some on toast, threw the toast away mostly uneaten, and threw the jar away. It was that bad. But the Aldi nutella is great! Very comparable to the name brand Nutella.

I shop at the Dollar Store regularly with 2 rules: No Food. And Nothing that goes on your skin. - Lotions, Soaps, Etc.

Paper goods, Wrapping paper, plastics, decorations, pregnancy tests - all good deals. Food - I'm not taking any chances.

Didn't someone mention this in regards to those yummy Matt's cookies, too? That Aldi sells a "version" of Matt's cookies at their store under their house brand?

Yep, Belmont brand cookies are the same as Matt's - except for the price of course. Truly one of my favorite things about Aldi. (Original posts about this - including a photo of said cookies - are up thread. Edited this because links didn't work.)

Most of the foods that I see at reputable Dollar stores like Big Lots and Deals sell a lot of the overruns and seconds from the large manufacturers, They offer some great deals.

I've been meaning to contribute to this thread for a while. I love it. It's one of my favorite threads on LTH--super helpful information, mothers and sons (i.e. mother and son), wives and husbands (i.e. wife and husband) chiming in. It's wonderful.

As for products not already mentioned, I like Aldi's string cheese (the regular kind; I don't like my cheese braided), and I know that my mom buys Aldi cottage cheese because it has lower sodium than most of the major brands (probably negligibly lower knowing my mom, but if you've got to watch your sodium really carefully).

I think I may have been responsible for getting my ex-boyfriend to shop at Aldi for the first time. I don't know that he's gone back, but in the one or two times we went together, he had success with a standard loaf of wheat bread, some bagels and a ham he prepared for a holiday dinner.

It's already been said here by Mhays, nr706 and maybe others, but if you live anywhere near Skokie, the Marketplace and Aldi combination on Oakton has got to be one of the best shopping situations one can have. I have to rely on the Marketplace for fufu mix , but I can get the majority of my dry goods at Aldi.

I've also long thought that Whole Foods and TJ's should adopt Aldi's bag policy. The way Aldi does it--recycle boxes, bring your own bags or buy their sturdy, reusable plastic ones--strikes me as a much more effective way of reducing use of new plastic bags. It really irks me that Whole Foods, in particular, doesn't do this.

happy_stomach wrote:I've also long thought that Whole Foods and TJ's should adopt Aldi's bag policy. The way Aldi does it--recycle boxes, bring your own bags or buy their sturdy, reusable plastic ones--strikes me as a much more effective way of reducing use of new plastic bags. It really irks me that Whole Foods, in particular, doesn't do this.

Happy S,

Not sure about TJ's, but Whole Foods offers a .10c credit for each bag you bring in to reuse. It can be WF, Jewel, Aldi, plastic/paper, no matter.

Enjoy,
Gary

The Trader Joe's on Ontario (and I'm pretty sure they do it at other locations, too) lets you enter a raffle for a bag of groceries every time you reuse a bag. They also sell sturdy reusable bags for chump change.

G Wiv wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:I've also long thought that Whole Foods and TJ's should adopt Aldi's bag policy. The way Aldi does it--recycle boxes, bring your own bags or buy their sturdy, reusable plastic ones--strikes me as a much more effective way of reducing use of new plastic bags. It really irks me that Whole Foods, in particular, doesn't do this.

Happy S,

Not sure about TJ's, but Whole Foods offers a .10c credit for each bag you bring in to reuse. It can be WF, Jewel, Aldi, plastic/paper, no matter.

Enjoy,
Gary

Oh man...here goes the rant. (It was coming anyway. ) What annoys me about my WF (the one I visit most often is the Evanston location) is that they'll give me the 10c credit if I whip out my balled up canvas bags that I brought specifically for shopping. Fine. However, I never buy much at one time at WF, usually it's when I've missed breakfast or need a lunch supplement and I'm buying a banana, maybe a yogurt and a carton of almond milk. If I have my backpack on me or another larger non-shopping bag and say to the cashier that I don't need them to give me a plastic bag, that I'll just put my items in my backpack or whatever, they never give me the credit. I only noticed this pattern recently, but I'm sure it's been happening to me consistently for at least two years. I don't understand why my backpack would be any different than an empty canvas bag--I'm still not taking new plastic. I don't really care about the 10c--given prices at WF, that change isn't going to make a difference--but, and here comes the feminist in me, I see women all of the time who carry these HUGE handbags/purses that clearly are not full to capacity who shop in small quantities like me and always take new plastic bags. It really drives me batty. Why carry such a big bag then?! I understand if there's a chance of spillage, and you don't want to get yogurt all over the inside of your expensive leather duffel, but if you're buying a bag of rice cakes? Anyway, this has immense potential to get [me] off topic (if I'm not there already), but my original point was that it's just a lot easier at WF to default to new plastic bags than it is at Aldi. TJs, to contribute something mildly useful, at least the Arlington Heights location, will give you a ticket for a monthly raffle (the prize is a TJ gift certificate, I think) if you bring your own bags.

happy_stomach wrote:TJs, to contribute something mildly useful, at least the Arlington Heights location, will give you a ticket for a monthly raffle (the prize is a TJ gift certificate, I think) if you bring your own bags.

The location at 3745 N. Lincoln Ave. does it as well. They have considered my backpack raffle-worthy in the past which I guess puts them one up on Whole Foods. Also they must be feeding their employees happy pills or something 'cause they're always insanely cheerful. I do enjoy that store.

I believe I have strayed pretty far from the original topic though.

For the record on the bagging issue, I know that Wild Oats gives you a small credit if you recycle bags as well.

I am a horrible offender of remembering to bring in bags, but I always tend to forgo bagging if I don't have that much.

Mmmm, corned beef hash! I have a can of that in my pantry right now...


Looks like it's "Italian Month" at Aldi. I picked up some Priano crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes. Even though I season it as usual while making spaghetti, it turns out even more delicious when I use the Priano kind.

I tried the tiramisu, which is not something I've had often enough in life to gauge its authenticity... but it had a nice flavor. Someone more knowledgeable than I will have to agree to come to Aldi, pay $3.99 for a box and take one for the team.

I picked up some of the Priano tomatoes for a batch of chili, they were quite nice. Also, tried a sealed package of knackwurst which were very good. Couldn't find any tiramisu. You can really save some money if you cherry pick items you know are of high quality. They had some Ritz crackers for about half the Jewel price.

GreenFish wrote:I am a horrible offender of remembering to bring in bags...

Had the same problem until I decided that I always needed shopping bags in the car ... just in case ... I needed to go food shopping. Same reason I always have at least a small cooler. You never know!

Of course, if you are at the mercy of this increasingly pathetic public transit system, you have my blessings to all the bags you want. I'll save a couple extra for you.

-ramon

We've been enjoying the pork schnitzel from Aldi (I think it was $6.99 for 10). It is infused with lemon, but picking up an extra lemon to slice couldn't hurt.

I went to the Aldi in Lincoln Park recently, and in this high rent area, I was amused that they were out of dark chocolate (but plenty of milk chocolate was available...blech), and the man in line before me had 6 boxes of sirloin steaks. I thought to myself, "there's a guy who knows what's good at Aldi!"

Hmmm, now Aldi sells unsalted butter! ($1.89/lb)

Saint Pizza wrote:Hmmm, now Aldi sells unsalted butter! ($1.89/lb)

It's a sale item for the holidays - gotta get there and stock up!

Bad news. One of my favorite items at Aldi is (WAS) the chicken sausage, which I just found out was discontinued. There was sun-dried tomato & basil; andouille; and gouda & apple. Oh well, back to the more expensive stuff...

the sleeve wrote:Bad news. One of my favorite items at Aldi is (WAS) the chicken sausage, which I just found out was discontinued. There was sun-dried tomato & basil; andouille; and gouda & apple. Oh well, back to the more expensive stuff...

Aldi's, like Trader Joes, carries items that it gets a special deal on. Once the special deal has been sold out, it is gone forever. They used to carry some pretty good smoked salmon last winter that I have not seen in a while.

jlawrence01 wrote:

the sleeve wrote:Bad news. One of my favorite items at Aldi is (WAS) the chicken sausage, which I just found out was discontinued. There was sun-dried tomato & basil; andouille; and gouda & apple. Oh well, back to the more expensive stuff...

Aldi's, like Trader Joes, carries items that it gets a special deal on. Once the special deal has been sold out, it is gone forever. They used to carry some pretty good smoked salmon last winter that I have not seen in a while.

I hear ya, and I've seen items like that come through Aldi in the past. This one kind of surprised me b/c it had been around a long time. I know I've been buying it for the last couple of years, off and on.

Can someone please tell me if Aldi owns Trader Joes? I keep hearing this rumor but I am unsure if it's true. Thanks