I'm a big fan of their Havarti cheese. I prefer the straight, full fat, no extra flavors added variety. They also have, from time to time, a decent Brie on hand. Nothing special, but if you're in the mood for Brie and don't want to spend a lot of dough, it's pretty good. It's kind of an impulse buy for me--most stores, it's a pack of gum in the checkout line. At Aldi, it's a round of Brie back in the deli section. Go figure.

They run at least a couple of German themed weeks during the year, and yes, one of them coincides with Oktoberfest. You can find several varieties of good German mustard, smoked Bratwurst and Thuringer, Black Forest Ham, and plenty of imported German snacks among their offerings. They actually run several ethnically oriented specials during the year; some more "authentic" than others. Italian, Asian, and Mexican specials come to mind, there may have been others that I just don't remember.

Buddy

Phil wrote:Aldi will be opening a store inside the Chicago Ridge Mall next spring.

Stopped by the other day. Interesting concept having an Aldi inside a retail mall. The store has a nice layout and seems much bigger than other Aldi's I've been to. Had a good amount of customers inside and the workers are very friendly and helpful. My only (small) complaint is that since it is in a mall I had to park over a block away.

I Picked up a few odds and ends including these items. Sorry for the mediocre cellphone pics.

Scala Beef Italian Sausage available in both Mild and Hot. I made the Mild on the Weber and they were very good.



"Parkview" Hot Dogs aka Vienna Beef. Interesting that Vienna would private label their product.







http://www.westfield.com/chicagoridge/s ... wOpen.html

Each time we go to Aldi we are surprised at improvements.
Cashiers are friendlier and do not act like factory workers.
Brands and house brands are getting better.

Since my bank is 6 miles away I have started using ALDI as my ATM.
You can get $100 cash from debit with any purchase.
Used to be you could get cash without a purchase, but it is still quick and easy.

My latest Aldi's bargain:

http://www.taproduce.com/consumer/artisan-lettuce.php

And 75 cents for a clamshell is packaged with three varieties of Artisan Lettuce: Oak, Tango and Gem, in both red and green. A great product for less than the price of iceberg lettuce.

Last week our ALDI had Tanimura & Antle Artisan 4 count lettuce for 99 cents each. We bought 3 and used it for a week and a half. This week it is $1.99, still a good deal as elsewhere I have seen it at $2.50 to $2.99. Cut wash and rinse and hardly any waste. Excellent flavor and taste.
Each clamshell has 1 each Oak, Tango(purple and green) and Gem.

http://www.taproduce.com/consumer/artisan-lettuce.php

45 seconds ago I said to one of my son's (13), "hey they're talking good stuff about Aldi's on my LTH."

His response was: "Dad, don't be so ghetto."

Hmm?

just saying.....

I'll go and check it out. I haven't been in one for 12+ years.

kenji wrote:45 seconds ago I said to one of my son's (13), "hey they're talking good stuff about Aldi's on my LTH."

His response was: "Dad, don't be so ghetto."

Hmm?

just saying.....

I'll go and check it out. I haven't been in one for 12+ years.

Once he start's paying for his own food he won't think it's "ghetto" to get a decent value for what you pay.

zoid wrote:

kenji wrote:
Once he start's paying for his own food he won't think it's "ghetto" to get a decent value for what you pay.

My point was the perception of the brand and place. Here in many places in Chicago the neighborhood market is perceived as having "more class" than an Aldi's.

imbottito wrote:Last week our ALDI had Tanimura & Antle Artisan 4 count lettuce for 99 cents each. We bought 3 and used it for a week and a half. This week it is $1.99, still a good deal as elsewhere I have seen it at $2.50 to $2.99. Cut wash and rinse and hardly any waste. Excellent flavor and taste.
Each clamshell has 1 each Oak, Tango(purple and green) and Gem.

http://www.taproduce.com/consumer/artisan-lettuce.php

I notice that these bigger-name specialty produce items often appear simultaneously at Aldi and Fresh Farms - though I kind of thought this lettuce didn't have a lot of flavor, maybe we got a bum batch. However, we bought a gigantic bag of tiny sweet peppers and again it was about half-price at Aldi. I'm guessing this means that their produce buyer is fairly local, as I've never seen any of these products in a Jewel or Dominick's.

I've been shopping at Aldi for some years now, but it's interesting to see how they've exploded due in large part, I think, to the crappy economy. I don't think they changed much - they were just in the right place at the right time.

ALDI Facts:
1. Owned by the same family that owns Trader Joe's.
2. Location of ALDI stores can influence your experience. If your ALDI store is in an older suburb or transient areas of the city than that ALDI experience is going to be a lot different than in an ALDI in a growing or upscale suburb.
3. 12 years ago ALDI was much more basic. They did not use scanners and clerks had all the prices memorized. Most of those ALDI stores were in low income areas.
4. If possible avoid the first few days of the month when certain public debit accounts are refreshed. Long checkout lines are common then. The rest of the month it is usually faster.
Saturdays are always busy.

Mhays wrote:I notice that these bigger-name specialty produce items often appear simultaneously at Aldi and Fresh Farms - though I kind of thought this lettuce didn't have a lot of flavor, maybe we got a bum batch. However, we bought a gigantic bag of tiny sweet peppers and again it was about half-price at Aldi. I'm guessing this means that their produce buyer is fairly local, as I've never seen any of these products in a Jewel or Dominick's.

I've been shopping at Aldi for some years now, but it's interesting to see how they've exploded due in large part, I think, to the crappy economy. I don't think they changed much - they were just in the right place at the right time.

Actually, I bought a bag of those peppers at Aldi's for $1. My wife bought the same product at Jewel marked down at $2. The same brand is usually $4 at Sam's Club.

Personally, I thought that the lettuces were better than most of the baby lettuces that I have been buying recently.


Aldi has added a lot of SKUs and improved a lot of their sourcing. And they are currently using a lot of the same vendors as Trader Joe's. In some cases, it is the same product at a lower price point - especially the cookies and crackers.

Hi,

Are we talking about those multi-colored mini peppers bagged in two pound quantities? I bought a bag for 98 cents at Jerry's this morning.

Regards,

That is them.

I used to look down at Aldi's too until I started shopping at them. They are not ghetto, if they even were at this point. Brand new Aldi's have been built in every community around mine in upscale areas. There are some good prices to be gotten at them for decent quality food. Still, not all shopping can be done at Aldi's but you can save some money there.

Agreed, toria, Aldi is no panacea; no single store is. Fortunately, here in Des Plaines we have Aldi, Shop & Save, and Caputo's all within a mile or so of each other. Thanks to their selection and prices, unless there is a sale on a specific item I'm interested in, I haven't had to set foot in a Jewel or Dominick's in more than a year.

Buddy

I don't like debating whether Aldi is "ghetto" or not, since I think it has a lot of racial implications. But within the last year I had an interesting experience at Aldi...

At some (most? all?) Aldi stores, you enter the store & your only option is to walk down the first aisle. I walked in a few paces ahead of 2 or 3 adult women with a few children. They were talking loudly to one another and insulting each other, but because they were walking together, I assumed it was being done in a joking spirit & they knew one another.

I got to the end of the first aisle when one of the women who was 5 or 10' behind me, picked up a bag of powdered sugar, swung it, hit one of the other women, the bag broke & the woman was covered from head to toe in powdered sugar. Then a melee broke out--shouting, more bags swung, kids picking up & throwing powdered sugar. I quickly turned & headed back down the next aisle--I didn't want to be that close if worse violence erupted--to discover that almost every customer in the store had stopped in their tracks to peek over shelves in an effort to see what was happening.

At this point I decided my shopping trip to Aldi wasn't really essential and headed toward the exit. I found myself walking out behind the security-escorted, powdered-sugar coated woman (who, listening more closely to her ranting, may have been under the influence of drugs).

My goodness that is a very strange occurance. Never experienced anything like that. My Aldi is so tame as to be boring.

The Chicago Aldi store on Clybourn is fenced off with a notice that the store is being remodeled and will reopen in the fall. The Aldi store locator does not mention it.

Rick T. wrote:The Chicago Aldi store on Clybourn is fenced off with a notice that the store is being remodeled and will reopen in the fall. The Aldi store locator does not mention it.

I assume you're talking about the one at 2600 N Clybourn, right? (The one below TJs near North & Clybourn is pretty new, and couldn't easily be "fenced off.")

chgoeditor wrote:

Rick T. wrote:The Chicago Aldi store on Clybourn is fenced off with a notice that the store is being remodeled and will reopen in the fall. The Aldi store locator does not mention it.

I assume you're talking about the one at 2600 N Clybourn, right? (The one below TJs near North & Clybourn is pretty new, and couldn't easily be "fenced off.")

I have been in that Aldi at 2600 N. Clybourn and wondered why Aldi's generated such love - that store was really the pits! Big dirty bins of cans, rotting produce in huge bags. Bizarroworld.

leek wrote:

chgoeditor wrote:

Rick T. wrote:The Chicago Aldi store on Clybourn is fenced off with a notice that the store is being remodeled and will reopen in the fall. The Aldi store locator does not mention it.

I assume you're talking about the one at 2600 N Clybourn, right? (The one below TJs near North & Clybourn is pretty new, and couldn't easily be "fenced off.")

I have been in that Aldi at 2600 N. Clybourn and wondered why Aldi's generated such love - that store was really the pits! Big dirty bins of cans, rotting produce in huge bags. Bizarroworld.

That Aldi was awful. I once saw a woman extricate a large bag of fun size Snickers from her drawers after a stern look from the security guards. Stay classy, Chicago.

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:Agreed, toria, Aldi is no panacea; no single store is. Fortunately, here in Des Plaines we have Aldi, Shop & Save, and Caputo's all within a mile or so of each other. Thanks to their selection and prices, unless there is a sale on a specific item I'm interested in, I haven't had to set foot in a Jewel or Dominick's in more than a year.

Buddy

The only sale with which Jewel/Dominick's could lure me in would apprioximate Franklins exchanged equally for Lincolns (and I mean pennies, not fins)

chgoeditor wrote:

Rick T. wrote:The Chicago Aldi store on Clybourn is fenced off with a notice that the store is being remodeled and will reopen in the fall. The Aldi store locator does not mention it.

I assume you're talking about the one at 2600 N Clybourn, right? (The one below TJs near North & Clybourn is pretty new, and couldn't easily be "fenced off.")

Yes. Didn't realize there was another one on Clybourn!

As you leave the inner city AND the inner suburbs ALDIs are without security and also other retailers have minimal security. Just the way it is.

Aldi’s is a staple for groceries at our home and not because we live two blocks away but because it works so well and saves money for us. I have to admit I have a love/hate relationship with Aldi. I love them when I am getting my goods like the bratwurst, bread, buns, Italian sausage, fancy cheeses and dips (Oh, how I miss the pesto cheese block) cereal, milk, eggs, frozen ravioli, cheap wine for cooking and other necessities such as laundry detergent and fabric softener (which I am in love with). I hate them when they keep raising prices or they are out of a certain item or they stopped selling something I liked or changed it considerably that it is not worth the value (the soda comes to mind). Though, I have to admit, their prices have gone up considerably since I started shopping there years ago and sometimes for certain items I can get them less on sale or at about the same amount at other places like Tony's, Caputo's, Cermak, Super Low Foods, etc.
I never fancied myself becoming an Aldi’s shopper. As a child I can clearly remember my parents going there once and really hating the experience. This was close to twenty years ago and back then it was a much more different atmosphere, almost a gritty like one compared to the independent produce places my dad usually favored. It was not until I met my husband who had been shopping there for years who showed me the way of Aldi. By this time, it had changed and become much less gritty like. The prices are what suckered me in and kept me coming back.

chgoeditor wrote:

Rick T. wrote:The Chicago Aldi store on Clybourn is fenced off with a notice that the store is being remodeled and will reopen in the fall. The Aldi store locator does not mention it.

I assume you're talking about the one at 2600 N Clybourn, right? (The one below TJs near North & Clybourn is pretty new, and couldn't easily be "fenced off.")

Driving down Clybourn today I noticed all the fencing down, the lot repaved, and people walking in and out of the store.

Rick T. wrote:

chgoeditor wrote:

Rick T. wrote:The Chicago Aldi store on Clybourn is fenced off with a notice that the store is being remodeled and will reopen in the fall. The Aldi store locator does not mention it.

I assume you're talking about the one at 2600 N Clybourn, right? (The one below TJs near North & Clybourn is pretty new, and couldn't easily be "fenced off.")

Driving down Clybourn today I noticed all the fencing down, the lot repaved, and people walking in and out of the store.

And grand opening cards all over my neighborhood...

Went to Aldi over the weekend, Never much been a fan of their Clancy's potato chips, but I grabbed a bag for my husband on Saturday thinking it was sour cream and onion flavored but when I got to check out I saw that it was the plain flavored baked potato chips. Too lazy to step in and out of line, I purchased it anyway and took it home and it was actually pretty good. Light and not salty at all. Mr Kajmac Johnson had some with their hummus dip and he loved it.

Hi- I googled Pumpkin Spice coffee, and I found that it is available at Aldi's right now. A person that does an Aldi's blog tried it though, and did not care for it. Has anybody tried this at Aldi's? What did you think? Does anybody know if it is the same as Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice coffee? If it isn't the same, is Trader Kpe's Pumpkin Spice coffee better?

The reason why I am asking is because a friend of mine is a big Aldi's .fan, but she thinks Trader Joe's is too expensive. She and her husband have no problem spending almost $2 a cup for a medium sized cup of Pumpkin Spice coffee at Dunkin Donuts though.

Is there any coffee at Aldi's that is particularly good? Thanks for any help, Nancy

NFriday wrote:Hi- I googled Pumpkin Spice coffee, and I found that it is available at Aldi's right now. A person that does an Aldi's blog tried it though, and did not care for it. Has anybody tried this at Aldi's? What did you think? Does anybody know if it is the same as Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice coffee? If it isn't the same, is Trader Kpe's Pumpkin Spice coffee better?

The reason why I am asking is because a friend of mine is a big Aldi's .fan, but she thinks Trader Joe's is too expensive. She and her husband have no problem spending almost $2 a cup for a medium sized cup of Pumpkin Spice coffee at Dunkin Donuts though.

Is there any coffee at Aldi's that is particularly good? Thanks for any help, Nancy

The pumpkin spice coffee at Aldi is delicious. Anyone who does not like it must be a coffee snob. The Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice coffee is also delicious. I am not sure if they are the same coffee, but I am sure that they are both delicious. Also, the Dunkin Douuts Pumpkin Spice coffee is also delicious and I do not blame anyone for spending $2 a cup for a medium sized cup of Pumpkin Spice coffee at Dunkin Donuts, for it is delicious. Hope this helps, Kramer_Edins.