My wife does probably a third of our grocery shopping there (the other two thirds split between Costco and Meijer). I believe she’s said what a lot of others here have said: Good for some things, not so good for others. I know they’ve got good pesto, and it’s really cheap. Good snacks (chips, nuts, etc), at a good price. I believe we also stock up on yogurt there.
From what I understand, a lot of their store brands are the same as Trader Joe’s, just with a different package.
I shop at Aldi a lot too. I can get stuff for breakfast and lunch during the work week and a couple of proteins for dinners for around 15 bucks. You can save a lot of money if you don’t care about having a variety of choices.
They’re really cool. Lots of very economical items; I can get extremely cheap saltines there, for example, and I prefer to buy milk there for the price. But they’ll have a range of somewhat fancier things; my local one usually has a pretty good range of ethnic breads. They’ll probably have an aisle with an unpredictable mix of rotating special/seasonal items, so that’s sort of interesting and/or frustrating. (I foundand this is the most ridiculous thingunfrosted Pop-Tarts there once, and loved them; and of course now they don’t have them.) Check ingredients on some frozen foods; they may use soy flour as a cheap filler.
Bring a physical quarter dollar coin for the cart; it’s a thing. You have to put your cart back yourself, and getting your quarter back is supposed to incentivize that.
I mostly agree with this. I like their kettle chips but am less impressed with the basic flat chips. Good for pretzels, nuts and that sort of thing. Sometimes they have really good prices on salmon or other seafood (especially around Lent). As others mentioned, they have good cheese and good hummus was well. The fresh “bake your own” pizzas are really good.
I stay away from their produce – too many times it’s been infested with fruit flies or much of it seemed spoiled. I buy chicken legs sometimes but haven’t had their beef.
I once bought a bottle of chocolate flavored holiday wine that was the worst thing ever. It tasted like someone dumped a package of Swiss Miss into a bottle of Night Train and shook it hard. On the other hand, it was called “Chocolate Flavored Holiday Wine” and cost $5 so I pretty much had it coming to me 
Only ever visited one Aldi branch, and I’m in the UK, so bear that in mind…
I’ve found that Aldi have some gaps in their inventory compared to larger chains, so I’ll go there to see what they have rather than visit with an extensive shopping list expecting to tick it all off. For example, my local store doesn’t stock garlic for some reason (although the rest of their fruit and veg is pretty good quality, and cheap), nor do they have an in-store bakery, so no fresh baked goods, just pre-packaged.
I have found some real gems though; they do brioche burger buns which are excellent, as are their Aberdeen angus steak burgers.
So I’ll visit Aldi if I happen to be passing, but expect to visit another store on the way home to complete my grocery shopping.
This is a widespread thing in the UK, probably because we’re a bunch of thieving gits, also because shopping trollies are a favoured mode of transport for the drunk and disorderly, which are then parked in the local canal or pond after use.
Widely available are pound-shaped trolley tokens which attach to your key chain. Bought a couple of these after having to go to the store to make change one too many times.
One thing they do well, which might be controversial, is hotdog sausages (at least in the UK). They do very good large hotdog type sausages, more a German type than the tiny tasteless ones we tend to get normally… But you might get the same in the US.
I found that if you shop in Aldi or Lidl in the uk, you probably have to do the rest of your shopping in another supermarket. However, you might pick up a steering wheel cover…
Pro: smaller store so you can get in and out faster.
Con: unless you want the multiple choices of a larger store.
Pro: Bare bones presentation - you aren’t paying for any extra frills. Also, the layout seldom changes, unlike other chains where they are constantly shuffling the layout so you have to search for things and spend more time and money in the store. Aldi doesn’t mind you getting in and out quickly.
Con: Some people like the frills and don’t want to do their own bagging. Yes, that’s something no one seems to have mentioned, you do your own bagging at Aldi. Also, no helpful carry-out service or motorized scooters for the disabled. If you need a scooter you have to bring your own.
Pro: Because Aldi employees are expected to be jacks-of-all-trades they work in all parts of the store, so ask the person stocking snacks about the cheese aisle they can give you a reasonable answer.
Con: If the store gets crowded all staff might be up at the check-outs, so getting help elsewhere might be difficult.
Pro: Generally lower prices, good for stocking up on basics/staples
Con: Fewer varieties of any particular item, can’t find exotic ingredients.
Pro: These days, they are trying to expand their produce and healthy selections.
Con: Some stores have issues with their produce. A lot has to do with turnover and how well run the local store is. I’m a regular shopper at Aldi and some stores are immaculate and some are not. In some places the locals buy a lot of produce so it’s usually quite good. In other places the locals don’t buy produce so it sits, which can lead to problems. There seems to be some effort to accommodate local tastes - Aldi in a neighborhood with a lot of Hispanic people will tend to have a larger selection of things like peppers and other related foods. Aldi in a largely polish neighborhood might have more of something else. Produce is also highly seasonal, like it was for everyone 50 years ago.
Here’s how to shop at Aldi: Go there first, and what Aldi has that is on your list buy at Aldi. Then go to another store and get what you can’t get at Aldi. Bring your own bags - you can buy bags there, too, but they were doing the “bring your own bags” thing long before it was trendy. Try their store brand items - in many cases, as others have said, they are the same or even better quality. The “quarter for your cart” thing has already been covered.
I went to the NYC one once because I was going to Target and it was in the same shopping complex. It was out of my way and I would not make a second trip just to go there. The store was weird, there was so much space but everything was stocked on the floor. It was like you were in a backroom. They were cheap, but didn’t have anything I wanted because the products were all off-brand items that had like only one type of each variety. Seemed like a place to go just for the barest basic essentials.
It’s important to know that ‘off-brand’ is generally produced at the very same factory/cannery that is producing ‘on-brand’. I worked at a Del Monte cannery summers during college, and the exact same peas and corn went into the Del Monte cans as the other ones. Well, the really bad stuff tended to end up in cans with white labels and large, black letters - but in general, it was all the same.
In particular, I’ve heard that the Millville Squares (Aldi store-brand cereal) is exactly Chex, and I certainly can’t tell the difference (at least not at $1 a box or more cheaper).
Something else I forgot to mention. At least the Aldi that I go to has no express lane and they usually only have one or two checkers so if you are only getting a handful of items, just expect to wait in a line for a while. They tend to be pretty fast at scanning even whole cartsloads, though.
Also, I recommend always bringing a quarter and getting a cart even if you’re only getting a few items. It’s much easier to swap carts when they’re done scanning than to stand there and try to grab your 4 yogurts, lb of ground beef and box of crackers while they’re loading up the next customer’s purchases.
Aldi IS about the “bare essentials”. For the poor, it’s great because they can get the basics of a decent diet at (usually) the lowest cost in town. Ditto for toilet paper, sanitary products, toothpaste, etc. They are not aiming for the high-end, social elite. Their niche IS the bare essentials and no-frills. They do it very well. They are also not for everyone, and don’t pretend they can fulfill every need.
But it’s not just the poor who shop there. They do have a small number of more “luxury” products (their chocolate has already been mentioned, but they also sell beer and wine and other things). Some folks higher on the socio-economic scale like them, too, because they aren’t paying for extras they don’t feel they need.
While Trader Joe’s is owned by the group which operates Aldi Nord in other countries, and while it, like Aldi, has a focus on private-label products and a limited selection of items, nothing about it is branded Aldi at all. And, while they definitely have some good deals on products, Trader Joe’s is also known for having some natural / organic products (with a corresponding higher price point), and definitely has a bit more of an upscale feel than Aldi does.
I’d wager that most TJ’s patrons have no idea that it has any connection whatsoever to Aldi. Any discussion of Aldi in the U.S. is going to really only be about the Aldi-branded stores, which are run by Aldi Süd.
I’ll add that specifically, I like their Dill Pickle or Salt 'N Vinegar chips, both of which are equal to Lays or any name brand.
But yes, their non-ruffle regular chips seem to go stale quickly compared to their other ones.
Instead you could bring your own cart or shopping bag.
thanks … and here where I live most of the stores is bag your own…
So it seems for us it will be a every so often trip … although since we bake a lot well probably go more at certain times than others …
Coke Zero has been discontinued by the manufacturer so no surprise there.
That brings up another thing to know about Aldi. Never get your heart set on anything. If they run out, it won’t be replenished until stocking day (Tuesdays, maybe?). And that’s if it is replenished at all. Plenty of items are never seen again, usually after you fall in love and realize you can’t get it anywhere else. I’m looking at you, 10 month aged reserved cheddar in black shrinkwrap, Priano linguini with seafood, Priano eggplant parm, etc. Still other items are seasonal and only available for a few weeks a year.
I’m a big Aldi fan and am lucky to have one near work and one near home, so stopping in is convenient. I don’t do all my shopping there but it’s good for staples (especially if you aren’t picky about brands) and there are some great finds in both the food and non-food sections.
The Choceur chocolate has already been mentioned, but their other imported stuff from Germany is good, too (sausages, mustards, kraut, pretzels), as are their Italian food offerings. Sometimes they have real Parmigiano-Reggiano and some pasta types you won’t find in a typical grocery store aisle (bucatini, orecchiette, radiatori).
Very nice selection of cheese, sausages, guacamole, and hummus. I’ve noticed they have added a small organic produce section, have a good selection of “healthier” items, and have a pretty good selection of gluten-free stuff. I’ve been happy with the fresh and frozen seafood and meat items I’ve tried. Their version of spicy Cheese-Its are better than the actual, Tobasco-branded Cheese-Its. 
Then there is the non-food stuff. Every week produces a new round of household, hardware, outdoor, kid’s items, etc. Get it before it’s gone, and sometimes it goes fast! Random stuff I’ve found at Aldi:
axe
jack stands
electric smoker
zip ties
raised garden bed kit
green house
bulbs/seeds
venus flytrap
kid activity books
book shelf
self inflating camping pads and pillows
misc. kitchen stuff like knives, cutting boards, cast iron
We bought a nice electric chainsaw there the other day. Not cutting down a mighty oak with it, but works fine for trimming branches and slicing up limbs that fall during a storm.
If I spend $300 at Kroger, I get the same amount of groceries at Aldi for $100.
IMO, here’s what Aldi is good for:
Milk is a dollar a gallon less than at my Kroger
Specialty cheeses/sausages, as mentioned
Good chips, cereal, snacky treats
Canned goods are super cheap, great for stocking up on canned veggies, fruits, soups, etc
Unusual frozen meals/meats/seafood that is generally very inexpensive
Cheap bread
They start their cashiers at $14 an hour here
Cons:
Produce sucks
Convenience/wait times in checkout line(s)
