Has Aldi's gotten better? - Page 3

heyitsjenny · 06-20-2008, 08:25:08 PM

Originally Posted by oscamaya

When I was in my early teens, my mom used to shop at Aldi and the only thing I remember about them is that you had to pay for a shopping cart, they don't give you bags (both of which I can deal with or work around), but the main thing that sticks out in my mind when someone mentions Aldi is that we had worms/larvae in our food on more than one occasion. Off the top of my head i remember the brownie mix and ramen noodles in particular. This is what has turned me off of shopping there, but they have such good prices on some things that you can rarely get coupons for. Has anyone else run into these problems before at Aldi? Like I said it has been probably 9 or 10 years since the last time I was there. I know there are some new ones being built in the area so I would like to check them out, it just sends chills up my spine to think about those gross little things crawling around in my food.

I've had a couple of problems with Aldi's. Rotten fruit and bad meat. I got a ham once, baked it, and it smelled like fish!!!! Tasted absolutely horrible, too. I rarely buy meat there, unless I am positive it is ok, and it is at an unbeatable price. I used to buy watermelons there, but they just don't match up to my local Rainbow's. Rainbow's watermelons can be $1 or $2 more, but they're actually fresh, so I get them.

I only shop at Aldi's for some canned food, some produce, and sugar. I can get cheaper milk, better eggs, better meat, better canned goods, better processed food, and better bread at my local food store with coupons.

poetangel · 06-20-2008, 10:21:51 PM

To me, sure their produce may be cheap...but that's in quality as well. 3-pack of green peppers, looked fine..used one that night. Withint 24 hours the other two were already getting wrinkled. I don't trust their produce because it isn't loose and I can't pick my own...

heyitsjenny · 06-21-2008, 03:13:44 AM

Originally Posted by poetangel

To me, sure their produce may be cheap...but that's in quality as well. 3-pack of green peppers, looked fine..used one that night. Withint 24 hours the other two were already getting wrinkled. I don't trust their produce because it isn't loose and I can't pick my own...

Poetangel, I agree. I prefer to pay more for big, fresh bell peppers that last about a week.

poole54 · 09-19-2008, 07:04:32 PM

I agree about the produce. I have and still buy a few items of produce there, but the quality is much lower. Most grocery stores have standards about the produce that they carry and I think that the "rejects" go to Aldis. For instance, most of the potatoes have a green tint on the peel (that isn't good)...the cucumbers are VERY large, which is not good either.

LovesDivine · 09-27-2008, 05:59:58 PM

We just had an Aldi open here in Brandon. I was impressed. I won't be buying a ton of stuff there since I can get it way cheaper at Publix or Albertsons when it goes BOGO and i have q's...but there are many items there that rarely go on sale or have q's or even if they do, Aldi is the same price, a bit cheaper, or 'maybe' a couple pennies more. To me, if it is a couple pennies more, I am gonna just get it at Aldi. I have a walk in pantry, and 2 six foot shelving units full of pantry items that I have stockpiled. I have a full size freezer and 2 'reg' freezers (frig freezer combo) full. And 2 frig's full. I don't have a lot of stockpile room left so if I can get it on a reg basis at Aldi cheap, I am not gonna be stockpiling it anymore and will free up some space for other stuff!

dsilva51 · 09-28-2008, 06:31:13 PM

I've been going there more lately for their frozen vegtables and frozen items. Such as the frozen fruit, stirfry etc. So far, I've been pleasantly suprised. .99 for a 1lb bag of frozen veggies is a deal and a half for me!

Laurie1999 · 09-28-2008, 06:50:48 PM

I have actually had very good luck with our area Aldi stores. I have gotten very fresh watermellons, fantastic blueberrie (MUCH better than the ones I bought at Harris Teeter for at least 2x the price), good romaine lettuce. The one thing that I was not happy with were the bags of apples. They were very soft and 'mealy' so I don't buy those anymore.

I have also been happy with their frozen fruit (great deal and great quality), crackers (except for animal crackers), cheese and canned goods.

I dont buy the meat. They have everything vaccum packed and I just don't like buying meat that way.

You do 'pay' a quarter for the cart but you get it back when you put your cart away where it is supposed to be and I just use my 'green' grocery bags so I don't have to buy the bags (which are pretty inexpensive anyways.

All in all, I really like Aldi for many things.

marrelam · 09-28-2008, 07:00:27 PM

Don't forget - it's double your money back if you are not satisfied for any reason with something you buy there! I love shopping at Aldi and have yet to be disappointed - been shopping there 7yrs!

phlack · 11-10-2008, 06:40:46 PM

From what I understand about pasta, there are always bugs in it. Back when Barilla had those $1.00 printables, I bought plenty of pasta for ~$.74 or so at Walmart, getting some overage in the process.

However, they sat in my pantry for a while. A few months later, I opened them up, and low & behold, there was SOMETHING in there.

Someone on here told me to freeze the pasta for a day or two if it's going to sit for a while. That will kill the...errr...whatevers that are crawling around in there.

-Mike

Nutts4Coops · 11-15-2008, 05:58:20 PM

I dont shop at Aldi much but when I do I'm happy with the price and quality. I love them for milk, eggs, frozen talapia, frozen chicken tenders, fries, tater tots, strawberries, sliced cheese, ziploc bags, canned veggies, chips, cereal, bread. Just about everything!