Current Events > Attn: Aldi shoppers.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Due to their private-label model, they have to contract a large number of third parties to create their line of products. This results in various degrees of quality (at least to Aldi's standards) across their products.

Which Aldi products do you find good and which products do you avoid like the plague?

I don't shop at Aldi often, but I find their laundry liquid is good but their frozen chicken completely awful.
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Their produce is usually good. :u
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I've had little to no problems with Aldi products. I can't think of something off the top of my head that was bad.
I just judge based on what I see and I guess that has worked or it's all good.
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I do all my grocery shopping at Aldi now. Everything seems to be almost exactly the same as name brand stuff.

Including the frozen chicken which I buy a lot of.
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I need to start going to Aldi. Hated it as a kid but now that im an adult everything tastes the same.
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In Tulsa, Aldi's fresh meat and produce are beyond garbage.
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Their bread wasn't very good.
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I like their shells and cheese a lot better than velveeta.
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I've started going there only a couple weeks ago. All of the frozen food has been so-so (and the frozen chicken, while I actually liked it, isn't as cost efficient as Walmart options), except they had a box of 12 Neapolitan ice cream sammies for $1.99, which were bomb dot com.

The only things that were not super great:

Bread. The actual white part of the bread is fine, the crust is like those brown public bathroom paper towels. It's $.85, but Walmart have vastly superior bread for $.98.

Yogurt. It was just gross. It tasted like it was diet, or something (very chemicaly) $.33 for a 6 ounce cup vs. $.60 for Yoplait at Walmart. I don't eat that often, anyway.

Macaroni and cheese. Not bad, but the cheese powder only had a slight sweet flavor, and nothing else. It was only $.33 vs Walmart's $.67, so sometimes I'd actually prefer 2 of the cheaper ones than one of the good ones.

I'm incredibly cheap, and I've actually kept a spread sheet of the Walmart items I usually buy vs Aldi's comparables. Based on 10 items I've tried so far, I've found them to be 21% cheaper at Aldi, on average. This doesn't include produce (as Aldi changes their deals on produce weekly), but that stuff is usually half price.
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those 30 cent boxes of mac n cheese are where it's at!

Their kleenex (yes i know that's the name brand) are awful tho. And the cottage cheese. And usually the produce other than potatoes and carrots.
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dolomedes posted...

my friend recommended their hard apple cider,

ooh, that is surprisingly good. And it's like 6 bucks for a 6 pack. As good as something like a Red's Apple Ale.
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Savoritz line (snacks like cheez its cookies and shit) Millville (cereal) are both great. The bread at my local one is always good and I don't know where you get that shit about the yogurt. I get the Greek ones and they're great. 65 cents though not no 33 so I don't know what you're getting. Their cheese is better and cheaper than anywhere else here, especially pepper jack. Cheap parmesean. Dry pasta is good. I don't generally buy meat there because the deals are the same or more expensive and usually smaller quantity.
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lilORANG posted...

As good as something like a Red's Apple Ale.

So it's garbage. I'll keep that in mind.
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At my Aldi, almost everything is top notch, on par or even better than name brand shit.

The only exception is produce. Some of the produce like pineapples and melons and peppers are fine, but tomatoes and strawberries and onions seem to go bag a bit faster than other stores.

That said, I love Aldi. Me and my girlfriend do 99% of our shopping there and our monthly food budget tops out at like $100 total, which is great.
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dolomedes posted...

moose_knuckle posted...

So it's garbage. I'll keep that in mind.

you've never had woodchuck?

Nah
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I think the only thing that I don't much care for their is the Fit Active line, at least when it comes to packaged deli meat. We always shop at Aldis first and then go to the regular grocer for whatever we don't get there.
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ShadowElite86 posted...

I think the only thing that I don't much care for their is the Fit Active line, at least when it comes to packaged deli meat. We always shop at Aldis first and then go to the regular grocer for whatever we don't get there.

Oh that's another thing. Their regular deli meat is good. Never tried the fit and active
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booboy posted...

In Tulsa, Aldi's fresh meat and produce are beyond garbage.

This. The ribs disgusted me.
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moose_knuckle posted...

ShadowElite86 posted...

I think the only thing that I don't much care for their is the Fit Active line, at least when it comes to packaged deli meat. We always shop at Aldis first and then go to the regular grocer for whatever we don't get there.

Oh that's another thing. Their regular deli meat is good. Never tried the fit and active

Yeah their regular deli meat is fine. We regularly by the salami.
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Love that place, but their fruit goes bad pretty quickly sometimes.

I bought my bed there lol, place is clutch.
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Their food is probably heavy with trans fats or something.
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Plus additional downsides when shopping at Aldi:
Bring your own shopping bags
No trolley collection service (need gold coin to use trolley and return trolley to get back coin)
No self-checkouts
Three staff per store

No self-checkouts kind of kills it for me. I don't buy much and waiting because three families isn't worth it if you're only getting bread and milk.
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the clancy's kettle cooked chips are incredible, the jalapeno flavor is the best

they own trader joe's and both have quality stuff overall
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Sayoria posted...

Their food is probably heavy with trans fats or something.

No

3_1_1_FTW posted...

need gold coin to use trolley and return trolley to get back coin

Where do you live
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daftpunk_mk5 posted...

I like their shells and cheese a lot better than velveeta.

You should try the Dollar General's Clover Valley brand. It's fucking delicious.
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I recommend everything except their non frozen meat.

Their ground beef and steaks have never been good imo
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I usually buy st. louis ribs or expensive fruit that's on sale, like avacados.

It's standard stuff, no better or worse than other grocery stores.
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3_1_1_FTW posted...

Plus additional downsides when shopping at Aldi:
Bring your own shopping bags
No trolley collection service (need gold coin to use trolley and return trolley to get back coin)
No self-checkouts
Three staff per store

No self-checkouts kind of kills it for me. I don't buy much and waiting because three families isn't worth it if you're only getting bread and milk.

That's how they keep their prices so low though.

Don't gotta buy a shitload of shopping bags
Don't gotta pay multiple cashiers
Don't gotta buy and maintain self checkout machines
Don't gotta pay people to go collect carts in the parking lot

Edit: and at least at my store even with just a couple cashiers working, they get through the lines really fast since they don't have to ring things up and then bag them, just place them in the cart so you can bag it yourself.
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Sayoria posted...

Their food is probably heavy with trans fats or something.

Actually their food generally has much better ingredients and is generally more healthy than name brand products.

That's on top of being cheaper than name brand too.
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Choceur is great, I love their coffee and cream bars

I mostly do my grocery shopping at Meijer these day(Woodman's is too far away for regular trips) and they have daily sushi specials that beat the shit of the Walmart crap
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