What's the best thing you have ever bought at Aldi?

@therealjrn I have a bag of quarters left over from my days at the laundromat. I’ll give it a shot.

@sammydog01 You’ll get the quarter (or one like it) back when you return your cart to the corral. Take some shopping bags with you so you don’t have to buy them at checkout. Or do like me and pick up a couple of boxes off the shelves as you shop. I like using the cracker boxes.

@sammydog01 so your washer is fixed now?

@Kidsandliz @sammydog01 Fixed as in a new one with a 5 year extended warranty, IIRC.

@narfcake @sammydog01 New is good in that hopefully it won’t break for a good long while. Although with an extended warranty that has probably cursed you for the first repair to be needed on day one of year six.

@sammydog01 @therealjrn You get your own quarter back- it’s retained in your cart until you return it.
OTH, I often make $0.50 or so returning other people’s carts to the corral.

@PhysAssist Some of my local 99-cents stores is doing the same quarter-in-quarter-out cart system. I don’t mind the extra exercise for some extra quarters.

@PhysAssist Technically, if you are checking out properly, your cart gets switched as the checker fills up the cart next to themselves as yours gets emptied. So you’ll end up with a different cart with a different quarter in the lockbox when you leave.

Your Aldi might have a different system.

Frequently somebody will give me their cart as they leave and I arrive. I usually then give my cart away to somebody else going inside as I leave…maybe that’s just a Tulsa thing. It only costs 25 cents and feels so good lol.

@PhysAssist @therealjrn I always give my cart away, a small cheap way to spread cheer and happiness. What I find funny is the number of people who act like I am crazy to give them a cart. I have even had ppl refuse b/c I would not take their quarter.

I just always ask that they pass along the cart when they leave.

@sammydog01 @therealjrn I might add this system really does work. I’ve been shopping at my location for years and I dont think I’ve ever seen a single stray shopping cart in the parking lot.

@PhysAssist @therealjrn @tinamarie1974 So I am walking in and guy coming out with a cart looks at me and asks if I have a quarter. I told him I didn’t need a cart today and continued inside. First time I have heard that one. I generally take my own shopping bags and fill them or grab an empty box to shop.

@speediedelivery I had a lady screeching at me “I have a quarter!!” while she wasn’t even close to the cart return. I was about to plug the cart in with all my stuff in my hands. She had a cane so I wobbled over to help her out.

@therealjrn Yeah- they do that at BJ’s, but not at our Aldi’s. My stuff gozinta my cart.

@therealjrn No, I often give away my cart, mainly to people who smile at me and say “Hi” or other pleasant greeting, who look like walking the extra way to the carts will be a few steps too many, or just look like they might not have the required 0.25.

@PooltoyWolf @sammydog01 @therealjrn Although a really functional cart for 0.25$ is a bargain, so maybe some people think they’re buying, not “renting”

@duodec Advent calendar with actually decent chocolate??? I must go, soon.

@duodec @RiotDemon yup and this year they added two new calendars. Cheese and wine. Sold out super fast, I was not able to get them

@RiotDemon @tinamarie1974 Dang, didn’t even know about those (or they didn’t have them here, not sure). I may have to cruise some other stores to see if I can find any.

@duodec Agree about the chocolate. It has become a staple in our Easter baskets and Christmas stockings.

@RiotDemon @tinamarie1974 All the ones around here are sold out of the deluxe chocolate calendars too; only the little kiddy ones are left. I checked three stores, then called 5-6 more, all gone except for the little ones. Meh. I missed it.

@duodec @RiotDemon @tinamarie1974 I snagged one of the cheese calendars. My wife is stoked. Seriously, she keeps telling me she can’t wait for December so we can start on it.

I know what my baby likes, and it’s a reasonably-priced cheese assortment.

@dannybeans @duodec @RiotDemon since I couldn’t find one you will have to let me know if it was worth it…then I can try harder next year lol

@RiotDemon @tinamarie1974
I spread the search out to a 30+ mile radius, calling a bunch of stores during lunch. There are no stores with deluxe advent calendars, or cheese or wine calendars. I’ve set a reminder for myself next year to start monitoring the Aldi app just before Halloween.

I’ve never seen the Christmas stuff sell out so incredibly fast before. On the bright side I picked up another 5 bags of the honey ginger chicken we like that is only available every few months. Lets hear it for having a chest freezer!

@duodec @RiotDemon you are an over achiever! I went to two Aldi and texted friends who shop at other stores to check for me. No luck! Here is to next year for both of us

@RiotDemon @tinamarie1974 @compunaut

The cheese, wine, and deluxe chocolate calendars are common on ebay now. $$$

@compunaut @duodec @RiotDemon Not cool, and who would want to buy cheese over ebay - - and it is illegal to ship wine to many states. Seems wrong on so many levels

@heartny What’s non-organic lettuce made out of?

@phendrick Lettuce and pesticides, I guess.

@heartny @phendrick It’s a myth that pesticides aren’t used on organic produce. There are pesticides organic farmers can’t use, but there are plenty of dangerous-to-humans pesticides they can use.

@heartny How are the batteries? Had any leakers yet?

@PhysAssist Not yet, but I’ve only had them for 2 weeks. I think it might be too soon to tell.

@mfladd Our go-to items include hard cider (seasonal), free-trade coffee, frozen orange juice concentrate (we like the taste better than name brands), chocolate, & whole pineapple ($.99 on a fairly regular basis).

@mfladd I basically only go there to buy chocolate. The non food things change a lot. I’ve bought a few things here and there. I’m not crazy about the produce at my Aldi.

@mfladd coffee, eggs,butter,chocolate, kale salad, cheese,40 calorie per slice bread, chocolare chip cookie dough protein bars. Well these are my almost every trip items

@miko1 Even funner: It used to just be “Aldi,” but the family had a split on whether they should sell cigarettes, so they split into Aldi North and Aldi South. Aldi North became Trader Joe’s.

@miko1 Well, estranged cousin, maybe.

The brothers who owned Aldi split the company into two completely separate Aldis back in the Sixties, Aldi Sud and Aldi Nord. Sort of like Adidas and Puma, only keeping the same name.

The U.S. Aldi stores are part of Aldi South. Trader Joe’s is owned by Aldi North. So they aren’t part of the same company.

Aldi in the UK is confusingly Aldi North, so it is related to Trader Joe’s and not Aldi USA.

@Pony Check the flyer and pick a day to go when they have stuff you need/want.

@heartny 130 miles is too far for me. Not happening.

@Pony Believe me, it’s not worth the trip.

@Barney @Pony hell no. I only happen to go occasionally because it’s two minutes from my job.

@reg036 Aldi “brasserie”? Not sure what a “brasserie” is?

@JnKL @reg036
/image brasserie

@JnKL Some enameled dutch oven type pan just wider and shorter walls.

@cinoclav these. I was super sad when I saw them in the store last week, I am on keto and cannot eat them

@tinamarie1974 I’m back on my ski season diet, but screw that - it’s right out the window for these things.

@cinoclav @tinamarie1974 Blame sent. I stopped in and grabbed a bag. Now I need to go back for more.

I also picked up a Butterball turkey (at half the price I saw at the last place I looked) some roasted pepper hummus and guacamole.

@speediedelivery I take both full and no responsibility for creating any addicts. They’re kind of hard to describe, aren’t they? But damn they’re good. Btw, hummus and guac are also two common Aldi staples for me. I love the hummus quartet they have for bringing to parties.

@cinoclav @speediedelivery yeah, they are addictive. Sorry, not sorry lol

@cinoclav My sister brought that to a picnic and got me hooked.

@cinoclav Bought a box at one of the farther stores (nearer ones didn’t have them) and my wife loves them so going to go back tonight.

@duodec A bag of the gouda bites?

@cinoclav Da! They were ok for me but she loved them. That one store had a few cases left so I’m going to try and get back to get her another couple of boxes.

@duodec I’m sitting here at work craving them now. When I get home I’m going to feast. You keep mentioning boxes, but I assume your Aldi isn’t special and they’re actually bags, right? Though in my case, I’ve actually bought boxes of them (filled with 9 bags).

@cinoclav sorry, you’re right. My wife took the bag to work, and I’m going to get her a few more if they are still available.

@sammydog01 Yay! You went! You’re an Aldiac now!

@sammydog01 looking for more shopping cart quarters

@Barney @sammydog01 Best thing is you only need one quarter at a time unless you’re doing the cart-train thing…

@Fuzzalini Yes, the Fritos are great and under a buck for a big bag.

@Barney Sketchy for sure. Sometimes it’s fun to slum it. Money goes farther kinda like that Downsizing movie. Take your Hyvee/Dillons money to Aldi and feel like a king/queen except you don’t have servants there to bag your groceries…

@Barney I think it’s been six months since I’ve been. Chocolate and sometimes random household goods is what I look for. Even though I hate the pillow and electric sweeper I bought.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@RiotDemon I do love chocolate. Guess I’ll have to go and check it out again.

@Barney Aldi is a discount store and is mostly used by lower income people.

That doesn’t bother me, but neither do thrift stores.

I don’t shop there regularly, but I do stop by from time to time just to see how much the avocados are and to see what cheese and chips I might want to buy. And whatever is on the electronics/tools/etc shelves.

@craigthom I am a low income person who lives in a low income, sketchy neighborhood. I do almost all of my shopping within my neighborhood area. I just don’t like the people who shop in my Aldi store. They really are the strangest of the strange.

@Barney Sorry your Aldi sucks/is weird. The one I use is just outside a huge gated senior community, so everyone there is ancient and is returning a piece of fruit they bought with a coupon.
/giphy Professor Farnsworth

@Barney @craigthom It was pretty empty this morning. Now I have to go back and find these sketchy people you talk about.
/giphy my people need me

@craigthom @sammydog01
My neighborhood Aldi shoppers seeking chocolate:

@Barney Maybe you need to shop at Walmart more often to appreciate the folks at Aldi?

@heartny Nope, don’t like Walmart either. I have to get my prescriptions there. It’s a nightmare.

@Barney @craigthom I think Aldi USE to be for low income folks. That said they are now located in middle and upper middle class neighborhoods. I know people from all walks of life who shop there and love it

@Barney @craigthom @tinamarie1974 Depends on how old the location is, I think. The one in my town hasn’t been significantly updated since probably the mid '80s, and it’s definitely the lowest-class place we’ve got. And it does seem to attract some strange people - think the sort of folks who hang out at the laundromat. Same vibe.

Meanwhile there are two brand-new ones in neighboring towns, and they’re by far the nicest stores in their respective areas, with clientele to match.

@tjanecek Mostly “not bad” on Beer Advocate, worse on RateBeer and Untappd. But it’s cheap.

@tjanecek I was in an Aldi a couple of years back in Wisconsin (buying pumpkins for some reason) and was excited/surprised/impressed to see they had cases of New Glarus Spotted Cow. I didn’t buy any, and don’t know if that was a regular thing or something unusual.

@mossygreen @tjanecek love the spotted cow when I’m in WI. Wish they would sell it elsewhere!!!

@DrWorm You’re surprised for the love of Aldi. Here on Meh. Really? You forgot where you were. You literally have people who won’t buy something, unless it’s here and they can take advantage of the “free” shipping they pay for every month.

@DrWorm Most of your complaints may be store specific. I have a new store I pass on my way home (if I take that particular route) that’s well lit, with normal, functional shopping carts. It’s in a decent neighborhood and the clientele is generally just fine. The only complaint is a common one with Aldi, there are never enough lines open to checkout.

@DrWorm Nothing like the ones here. Shopping cards are bog standard metal carts, just with the little coin receiver/chain unit on the handle. The stores are generally quite clean (allowances for stocking times and the odd nasty dirty customer or uncontrolled kids). Better than the two nearby Walmarts in my estimation.

As to the items for sale… yes, they do carry some exceptionally low end items, and its good to buy small quantities of things you haven’t tried. But they have quite a number of good to excellent things still at good prices. Its worth the effort.

I agree with @cinoclav about the long waits in line. Not all the time but it can happen.

@cinoclav @duodec My complaints may be “store specific”, but aren’t confined to a single store. I have been in about 6-8 Aldi’s in 4 different states and my experience has been the same. Interestingly, I haven’t noticed long lines being a recurring problem. I think we all agree that there is some value to be had there, but, in my experience, the atmosphere can definitely be off-putting for some shoppers.

@DrWorm The newer stores are spacious, clean and well-lit. It’s actually kind of weird. Like being in a commercial for Aldi.

Yes, the choices are still limited, the packaging may be smaller and product names are suspiciously similar to nation brands.

@reg036

@reg036 Yeah forgot about the gluten free. My wife prefers to do with a lot less gluten and the rice pasta and the rice-based mac and cheese (though they stopped carrying the ‘kraft’ box style with powder cheese and now only have the ‘deluxe’ style with the foil squeeze pouch of cheese whiz) cook up nicely and taste quite good.

The quinoa based pasta not so much (but the two brand name quinoa pastas I tried had the same off flavor so…)

@medz why the hell? I would leave. Nothing they are selling is worth that much time to me.

@RiotDemon Google image search says it was when they sold a Lifetab android tablet.

/image aldi shoppers

@medz this must be an example of “your timing must be spot on”. I’ve never found kids on sale at aldi’s

@mfladd We like the 2% white* milk from Aldi. It tastes good and stays fresh longer than many other brands.

*My chocolate milk must be Anderson Erickson (AE) brand or one of the store labels they fill.

@mfladd yeah the crowds will go away. One good peice of advice try something every week. Start by doing basics but slowly add in one new item every shopping trip. You will find your favorite items that way.

@mfladd - It really depends what you eat - Aldi’s mostly kind of junk food and low-end comfort food, with some key exceptions. Their milk products, nuts, OJ, bag salads, spices, frozen prepared foods, crackers, chips, and dips are good and cheap, their cereals and breakfast bars are better and cheaper than, say, Acme house-brands but not as good as brand name. Their staples (salt, pepper, flour etc) are OK but the prices are just OK, ditto their paper products. I think their bread, pet food, cleaning products, pasta, canned vegetables, and frozen fish sucks. Their meat and cheese is low-grade and priced accordingly; Walmart-level stuff, used to be true of their produce too but that seems to’ve improved…

Their chocolate isn’t top quality but is good and cheap - I like it better than Hershey’s. I’m addicted to their hazelnut milk-chocolate bars. I think a lot of people have stuff like that at Aldi; favorite goodies kind of things.

It’s the specials you want to look out for - they have a weekly circular you can find on-line, about two weeks in advance. Where I am, anyway, you can call the store to see if the item is in before driving over. It’s worth finding out the actual delivery schedule for your store because good things can go fast.

@mfladd Did you happen to get the Emmentaler cheese bites instead? Their boxes usually have 6 bags of gouda and 3 of the Emmentaler. (Not that I would ever buy them by the case. Nope, not me…)
The bags are similar. They’re also good but I slightly prefer the gouda. In the past I’ve also run across a bag of parmesan (which I bought and enjoyed) and a bag of blue cheese (of which I ignored as I don’t like it).

@msklzannie Isn’t that strange about the milk? I was buying milk from Giant Eagle and it was going bad fast (happened with multiple gallons). I started buying my milk at Aldi and it seems to NEVER go bad!

@fjp999 There was one store (not Aldi) where any milk we got would start to go bad before the sell-by date. After that happened a few times I checked the dairy case thermometer and discovered the temperature was too high. Dairy cases should be between 34-38°F and it had been about 42 iirc. I let the employee who was stocking the dairy section know that they should check the temperature as it was higher than it should be. Since then that store’s milk section’s temperature has been in the correct range.

@msklzannie Good to know. I like that milk at the Aldi I shop at is held in refrigerated storage and the customer opens glass doors to get products while in most other supermarkets it is set up in easy reach refrigerated shelving. I think that keeps such products at a constant temp as well.

Keeping milk on the bottom shelf at the rear of the fridge also helps to keep it at its coldest is my understanding.

@aetris Junk food - that’s me!

@cinoclav It was the Emmentaler. Haven’t tried them yet. I may try them on the long bus trip to Philly tomorrow. I am chaperoning for a bus load of 11yr olds.

@mfladd Welcome to town. Sorry I didn’t have a chance to throw out the welcome mat. Please close all doors behind you and don’t let the Gritty out.

I assume you’re going to experience the endless thrills of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Constitution Center, etc.?

@cinoclav @mfladd is also in Philly to steal all of your Gouda Cheese Bites.

@Barney @mfladd
/giphy Nooooooo

@cinoclav Thanks, I closed up after I left. It was a trip to UPenn Museum of Archeology and Anthropology. It was a long and exhausting trip that lasted 12 hrs. Also, I almost had to throttle a few misbehaving kids because some chaperones think it is their job to just stand there and take up space without uttering a word all day.

@mfladd Interesting. That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a field trip there. Definitely one of the more obscure destinations in Philly. Never been there myself, how was it?

@cinoclav It was nice, but very small. I thought we would not have much time there, but it turns out we had too much time. It’s not like 11 yo’s are going to stop and read the card about a cool Greek Hoplite helmet. These kids were buried in their phones. They did do a presentation on Egypt and mummification techniques that the kids liked. The museum did have some really nice pieces there.

@cinoclav @mfladd I was coerced to chaperone a field trip to the Smithsonian. It snowed. They couldn’t get us to the right stop on the train. None of the sidewalks was shoveled. We had to use snow covered staircases. Did I mention one of my kids was in a wheelchair? The train leaving was delayed for a couple of hours. Fuck you DC.

@mfladd Oh yeah, I volunteer at a museum. Some days we have over a thousand kids from school groups. Fuck you, lazy assed chaperones. I hope your kid breaks that bee hive and you get stung. A bunch.

@mfladd Hmm, I may have to check it out at some point. I’ll be at the Academy of Natural Sciences Saturday evening. They have a theater there where they’re showing the annual Warren Miller (skiing) movie. Unfortunately the only area that’s accessible at that point is the dinosaur hall. It’s still cool to see the T-Rex every year, no matter how many times I’ve been there. That might have been a bit more interesting for the kiddos.

@cinoclav @mfladd @sammydog01 What kind of museum has live bees? That sounds very exciting. Can the kids pick up the hive and shake it?
/giphy shake the bee hive

@cinoclav I agree. That looks cool! I can’t wait to take my kids to philly on my own sometime and introduce them to the Mutter Museum.

@mfladd Oh, that’s definitely the strangest museum they’ll likely ever visit. Philly has some really great culture. I’ve been wanting to get to the new Museum of the American Revolution.

@dhelmick56 I don’t know if Aldi has it but Trader Joe’s has cookie butter made from those Speculoos cookies, and it is outstanding. If you see it, grab some.

@makhay I agree on the one-time things. We have found several items through the years that we would continue buying, but they never returned. Sometimes we’d manage to buy some more before they ran out, but not often.

@sammydog01 Waiting on your review of the gouda bites.

@cinoclav They’re good. Really good. I’m trying to not eat the whole bag.

@sammydog01 I wish you luck with that. I stopped in yesterday to pick up some yogurt. Checked for the bites and found a total of 12 bags left. I bought 9 of them. I have a problem.

@cinoclav @sammydog01 I have to get back and look for the blue cheese. I didn’t know to look last time and I love blue. My gouda bites are gone and the emmentaler are open. I do agree that the gouda are better but I would not say no to either.

@speediedelivery I think the blue cheese and parmesan I had seen were past flavors that they don’t make now. I had found them in their clearance area and it was only one bag of each. Don’t go crazy looking.

@jholsapple More like they’re distant cousins. Everyone tends to confuse this issue. This helps: https://www.thekitchn.com/aldi-trader-joes-parent-company-rumor-260999

@daveinwarsh I think you’re doing it wrong…

@daveinwarsh
/image Trader Joe’s cat cookies

@daveinwarsh @narfcake
/image Trader Joe’s chocolate covered espresso beans