Aldi and Trader Joes

[mikedp]

We purchase 50% of daily food needs at Aldi's, son is a health nut and says their bread is best buy in Ames based on protein content. Spiral Hams are co-packed by Cooks, Smithfield or Tyson, their chicken breast (frozen) come in a 3 lb package and wife says most consistant chicken breast vs any store in Ames.

Some earlier comments discussed store more for poor but few commented how seeing a few more upper class there, wonder how the upper class made their money, watched what they spent. Wonderful idea...............Maybe the Gov't should read this (sorry to bring politics into the thread)

 

[mcblogerson]

I know we've gone off topic here (I know, shocking for CF), but are you talking about foodservice?

Yes, foodservice distribution like Sysco. I don't know where Sysco gets their canned tomato products but we get them from Hunts. As a customer you can order Hunts or the company brand, but they're the same thing. We also have retail stores like an Aldis that carry premium and company labelled products we distribute to restaurants, hospitals, schools, etc.

The factory food issue isn't a bad thing. The shady part of it is how many places buy the canned factory tomato and just dump it in a jar. They put a nice label on it that says fresh organice tomatoes and sell it for triple the price. If you bought a jar of "fresh" tomatoes from a farmers market or produce market, my bet would be they came out of a can. It's one of those fun things you learn in food service distribution like which restaurants have filthy kitchens or that almost all mexican restaurants are just a buffet where your food was cooked hours or a day ago, assembled and reheated in an oven. Unless you order the fajitas, I always order the fajitas if I'm in uncharted territory.

 

[Psiclone]

I love Aldi. Great selection of wines at an affordable price. Good quality on their other products as well.

I like TJ's as well and go there when in the area. Some unique items, great selection of wines, cheese, nuts, etc.

 

[TRZA]

Every kitchen is actually a miniature factory. The only differences are the input supplies, efficiency, cooking techniques.

 

[Stumbles]

Aldi's has a lot of great stuff. I can do most of my shopping there, sans some produce items.

 

[HFCS]

I love Aldi. Great selection of wines at an affordable price. Good quality on their other products as well.

Aldi must be very different from location to location, I almost thought this post was a joke when I first read it. The one in my neighborhood has zero wine (even thought it's the kind of neighborhood that has multiple wine stores). Another poster said Aldi had healthy bread, I would not consume any of the bread at my Aldi because every kind of bread they have is pumped with lots of preservatives and high fructose corn syrup.

My Aldi doesn't even have the cooking essentials one would need to make most recipes, it's exclusively highly processed and frozen foods with the one exception being local tortillas. If you want produce I'd say it has about 50% of the types of fruits and vegetables you may want or need to make most recipes or common snack fruit, usually packaged and not loose.

 

[00clone]

What an educational thread. There's a new Aldi being built in Iowa City. We usually go to Fareway but might do some Aldi shopping. I too have negative associations from my childhood. Some questions: you have to bring your own boxes/bags, right? And you have to check the carts out with a quarter or something?

Where's the new Aldi's going in IC?

 

[Redman97]

Where's the new Aldi's going in IC?

On Highway 1 across from Culvers.

 

[kevdiv48]

Love me some Aldi's. I remember going there a bunch as a kid and it's easily my favorite place to get most groceries (sans produce) now. Prices are nearly impossible to beat, getting in and out of the store is a breeze and quality does not seem to be much below name brands, if at all.

 

[00clone]

On Highway 1 across from Culvers.

Ahh...where they bulldozed all those older buildings? I just figured that was going to be another car dealership.

 

[CarolinaCy]

Aldi must be very different from location to location, I almost thought this post was a joke when I first read it. The one in my neighborhood has zero wine (even thought it's the kind of neighborhood that has multiple wine stores). Another poster said Aldi had healthy bread, I would not consume any of the bread at my Aldi because every kind of bread they have is pumped with lots of preservatives and high fructose corn syrup.

My Aldi doesn't even have the cooking essentials one would need to make most recipes, it's exclusively highly processed and frozen foods with the one exception being local tortillas. If you want produce I'd say it has about 50% of the types of fruits and vegetables you may want or need to make most recipes or common snack fruit, usually packaged and not loose.

I've been in a half dozen Aldi's in the greater Chicago area, and every single one of them has a nice wine selection for such a small store. EDIT: I could see if the store was in a rough neighborhood or something, they might be worried about theft or robbery maybe.

It's fairly obvious that Aldi does not cater to the type of shopper/eater that you are, but I'm not sure why you're so intent on trashing them for it. They have carved out their niche, and if you don't like that, then I guess there are other alternatives for you.

 

[CarlHungus]

Like others have stated, I have a negative opinion of Aldi's just cause of my childhood. Maybe it's time to give it another shot

 

[KnappShack]

Like others have stated, I have a negative opinion of Aldi's just cause of my childhood. Maybe it's time to give it another shot

I gave Ford another shot after bad experiences as a kid. It was a mistake.

I'm going to assume it's the same with Aldi. Thinking you get what you pay for.

 

[baller21]

I gave Ford another shot after bad experiences as a kid. It was a mistake.

I'm going to assume it's the same with Aldi. Thinking you get what you pay for.

you own a pair of Beats don't you.

 

[Stumbles]

Aldi must be very different from location to location, I almost thought this post was a joke when I first read it. The one in my neighborhood has zero wine (even thought it's the kind of neighborhood that has multiple wine stores). Another poster said Aldi had healthy bread, I would not consume any of the bread at my Aldi because every kind of bread they have is pumped with lots of preservatives and high fructose corn syrup.

My Aldi doesn't even have the cooking essentials one would need to make most recipes, it's exclusively highly processed and frozen foods with the one exception being local tortillas. If you want produce I'd say it has about 50% of the types of fruits and vegetables you may want or need to make most recipes or common snack fruit, usually packaged and not loose.

I have been to three Aldi's in the last week, two here in Ohio, one in Florida, and all have had the same layout and selection, wine, organic goods, and other things included.

Maybe the one you've been to is the exception. While I was shopping today, on a hunch, I looked and I found several varieties of "good" bread that don't have preservatives or HFCS. I really don't buy bread so its not something I look for.

Aldi's is much changed. I am going to do the majrity of my shopping there from now on. Aside from broccoli, and Kashi instant oatmeal, and a variety of peanut butter I like, I found pretty much everything I buy each week.

 

[azepp]

I found several varieties of "good" bread that don't have preservatives or HFCS.

I see what you did there...

 

[00clone]

Like others have stated, I have a negative opinion of Aldi's just cause of my childhood. Maybe it's time to give it another shot

I went today mainly because of this thread, plus I needed to waste more time with the kids while the missus was cleaning the house. I got a random selection of stuff, but not a whole lot. I filled 2 grocery bags for about $30. Couple bags of chips at less than $2...I specifically picked these up because chips can easily be cheap and nasty. The 3 YO son and I ate about 1/3 a bag on the way home, no complaints. Flour was 1.54 for a 5# bag, 10# bag of potatoes for $3...withholding judgement on these, as I'm picky about my taters, you can get a cheap or expensive bag that is spotted and rots quickly, but these on first glance look pretty good. Got the ingredients for green bean casserole for a test...if they can do that, I might be in. Picked up some Ramen for midnight snacks, prolly about the same as walmart. Didn't really get time to look over the produce or meats, they were stocking and I didn't have the patience to deal with that/other customers/a 3 year old wanting to explore everything.

First impressions...depending on results from this round of purchases, might be a stop once in a while to stock up on some stuff, but I don't think it'll be my go to store. Also, it'd be hard to get thru the current IC store with 2 kids, at least with the way the store was today. With Hy-Vee, I can get both kids in the cart and the aisles are wide enough that they're not going to either grab stuff or bust an arm reaching out while passing another cart. However, Hy-Vee is horribly overpriced compared to Fareway or Wal-Mart...but it's closer and more convenient for me so that's where a lot is bought. I also have a membership to Costco, and that's good, but limited on what they carry. I think this might fit in a niche with Costco where there are certain staples I get there, but the trips for a particular recipe will be somewhere else. Also will be interested to see the new IC store and if it improves on the experience.