I've recently 're-discovered' Aldi's. So - it's a bit untraditional. There aren't shelves with a thousand options for every item, it's more basic with cans or boxed goods stacked, sometimes still in their cartons. At first I thought it was a 'budget' store with weird off brand labels, but I recently read an article in Business Week about Aldi that touted their organics, and their commitment to no pesticides or chemicals in their food, so I decided to give them another try. I'm happy I did. I took my time walking the aisles to see what they had, and while I wasn't able to find everything I wanted, the things I did get were very good. Couldn't find the Raspberry-Pom juice I usually get elsewhere - no problem, tried their Pomegranate-Plum instead, it was good. Just have to be flexible. They have a lot of interesting packaged vegetable options, (think Trader Joe like things), good produce for Great prices - a bag of sweet potatoes for $1.50, a bag of onions 59 cents, and their meat was also outstanding. I tried a vanilla brioche bread that everyone loved. I've been paying $3.79 for Kroger brand Lactose free milk, at Aldi's it was $2.79 and it tastes great. So - I'll be going there more often and to my other store when I need to fill in the gaps. It's really close to my house, so bonus for me when I need something quick.
A few more things - they don't have bags of any type, take your own. To use their carts you have to insert a quarter to free it from the chain of another cart. When you're done, you bring it back, hook it back up and get your quarter back. It keeps the carts out of the parking lot - it's amazing how many people apparently want their quarter back. And - as I discovered the other day - no cash back if you use your debit card. read more