ALDI?

e8jackson6 · August 2009

Does anyone shop here? Is it worth it? We have two within okay distance to us. Not as convenient to us as Wal-Mart though.We saw a commercial last night and DH said we should go check it out.Are the prices that much better? We buy a lot of produce - is it good? I was thinking it may be a good place to stock up on non-perishables. Thoughts?

d78 · August 2009

I like Aldi, but it's a pain because I can never find everything there, so it means going to more than one store. Their prices ARE great, but I recommend it more for certain things. It takes awhile to determine what the best things there are. And it's been so long since I went, that I can't remember! They DO have name brand stuff for certain things much cheaper. You get a lot for your money, IMO.

skybluejen · August 2009

One of my best friends lives on a very tight budget and she swears by Aldi. She said she buys all of her produce and canned items there. I've never been to Aldi so I can't comment on the prices, but she lives in the city and drives to the North Hills just to shop there, so it must be good!

colleenmclaughlin1 · August 2009

My mom shops there and she is definitely budget conscious. However the one she goes to (and I'm not sure which) is near a Giant Eagle so if she can't find it at Aldi, she can easily swing by GE. I don't think she buys much produce there but definitely non perishables.

e8jackson6 · August 2009

Thanks ladies - maybe we'll go check it out this weekend. Sounds like it may be at least worth a look.

dreamalotmp · August 2009

Aldi is great for produce. I got trapped there during my first visit trying to exit the store without going through the checkout lines (which you have to do). I wasn't buying anything, sol I didn't know how to get out otherwise. I tried to squeeze between a huge concrete pillar and a shelf containing may boxes of cereal and I couldn't fit through. People saw me, I giggled (while being TOTALLY embarrassed) and asked how to get out of there. They 'let' me through the checkout lanes. SO ridiculous. :P

hey_its_jenn · August 2009

I've never been there but that's mainly because I don't carry change on me and you need to 'rent' a shopping cart for $0.25 or $0.50, so make sure you have change!

daveys_baby · August 2009

OMG OMG OMG, I just had the best key lime pie from there, it was an edwards frozen one. I haven't been to one in awhile, but if I remember correctly, their produce is great as far as prices but it seemed to go bad faster than what I bought at other stores. So if you're going to make it for dinner in the next few days ok, but don't plan on keeping it for 4+ days. I think they have good prices on chocolate and cereal as well (those were the staples when I was a college student lol). And they're closed on Sundays just so you don't waste your trip.

McBridetobe · August 2009

I like Aldi and DH hates it.

He won't even call it Aldi...he calls it "the other store", haha! It does require another store too though, which can be a pain. I get a few things there they are cheaper. It used to be by far the cheapest place near me for milk, but the price went up a little...still pretty good though - $2.19. We usually buy flour and sugar there, other baking supplies like chocolate chips, vanilla, etc. I really like their low fat cream cheese, rice cakes, chex mix, broth or cream of soups and their "Fit and Active" line of food. Sometimes we get really good deals there if they are overstocked on some name brand items - like cupcake mix/frosting, Miracle Whip, etc. It can be hit or miss though. I bought pancake/waffle mix there and it was terrible! My store only has an okay selection of produce and I've never bought meat there, since we usually go to a butcher or buy in bulk. Bring your own bags, a quarter for the cart and make sure you have cash or debit...that's all they accept.

morainemom · August 2009

daveys_baby, We have had the same experience as you with the produce going bad in a very short period of time.I've only shopped at the one that's 12 miles from about 3 times ever.

d78 · August 2009

Maybe check the store hours, too. They have weird hours (Daveys' post made me think of that). Ours is actually open on Sundays. They close early every day, though.

daveys_baby · August 2009

Pam, I haven't been to any in the Pittsburgh area yet... just the one up in Clarion. I wasn't sure if it was because they used less preservatives or something (which I guess can be good if you eat it right away)...but the pie was to die for and would not have lasted longer than 2 days in our house!

e8jackson6 · August 2009

Thanks! The two nearest me (at least according to the website) are Forest Hills and Bethel Park, and both are open Sundays.Anyone shop at either of these locations?

McBridetobe · August 2009

I've been to the BP one awhile back. Mmm, stop and get a Danny's Hoggie on the way home!

morainemom · August 2009

daveys_baby, The nearest Aldi's for me is in Grove City.Some people love to shop there, others hate it. I do a lot of my shopping at Giant Eagle, along with trips to Sam's Club.

skybluejen · August 2009

Lol @ renting a cart! Strange, but I guess it causes people to return them.

marburs · August 2009

I dont have much of a comment on Aldi's. But the whole cart thing- very popular in Europe. I traveled to a bunch of different countries and I didnt see one store that had free grocery carts

themissizz · August 2009

The quality is not great, and in my opinion, most of the stuff is cheaper because there's less of it in a package. I'm not a huge Aldi's fan. There are some things that are cheaper, but I prefer Walmart and Sam's Club for the sake of convenience. I've had great luck on produce at Trader Joe's. I know it would be a hike for you, but their produce stays fresh for a long time and the prices are good.

hey_its_jenn · August 2009

Sara - while you were over there, did you have to pay for the public bathrooms? I always thought that was a lot of nonsense, too. Especially in France. And a lot of them were on timers so if you weren't out in three minutes, you were almost locked in there while it did this whole self-cleaning thing. VERY odd.

e8jackson6 · August 2009

I don't mind the quarter thing for carts - you get it back when you take the cart back. Just saves them from having to hire people who take care of collecting carts. And I like the idea of people bringing their own bags. If other stores did stuff like this, they could all lower prices by cutting costs. Such simple things to do.

marburs · August 2009

Paris was the only place that I ran into paying for public bathrooms. I never saw the lock-in ones though... I would just always get some expresso at a cafe and use their bathroom. I can't think of any of countries that I went to that made you pay for the potty...

snorge · August 2009

I desperately, desperately had to pee once in a London tube station...nearly wet my pants as I fumbled for the correct change to get into the pay bathroom! :oP

marburs · August 2009

ho- I never had to pee while in the tube... but I thought London was pretty user friendly as far as bathrooms go... Did you see the Harry Potter statue of him running into the wall at that one station?

hey_its_jenn · August 2009

Haha, snorge, that would have SUCKED. The WORSE public bathrooms I've seen abroad, thus far, have been in Italy. Literally was a hole in the ground. I couldn't imagine if you fell it - yuck! I've been told that you have to pay for the bathrooms at Oktoberfest, which would become a huge issue if after you start drinking, and you break the seal and have to pee every 5 minutes. I'm really hoping I can hold my bladder over there :P

daveys_baby · August 2009

Along the lines of Oktoberfest, my thought was "well, there's alot of pubs in England, I'm sure the tube has been peed in before." I'm glad you made it though!

skybluejen · August 2009

I hated having to pay for public restrooms in Europe! Even at places that we paid to get into (like a museum I went to in Russia) we were required to pay an additional fee for the bathroom. I have the bladder of a 2 year old so I hated it!

d78 · August 2009

I had to pay for the loo in Aruba a couple times. Random places, where there was no where else to go.

McBridetobe · August 2009

I love how the ALDI post turned into places you have to pay to use the facilities.

d78 · August 2009

Haha, KR! That's why I didn't check back in after I posted...I figured there were just some people opinionated about Aldi!

stargazer10 · August 2009

FYI about Aldi, a lot of the products are brand names items repackaged. For example, their ketchup is actually Heinz. I forget how exactly they do it, but they send their labels to the Heinz plant, and they put them on.

daveys_baby · August 2009

Sorry for the wrong info about it being closed on Sundays, the only two I'd ever gone to were closed then so I assumed it was a policy they had like Chic-fil-A.

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