# So, tell me about ALDI **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 31, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686 "2003-05-31T01:30:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/41 "2016-03-26T06:03:16Z")
I’ve shopped at Aldi in Australia, and at Trader Joe’s and Aldi in the US, and I like them. The prices are good, and the quality is fine, with Trader Joe’s being a little more up-market than Aldi. The main disadvantage is that the range is not as good – and they often have things on special which are not going to be available again in the foreseeable future, so you hsve to buy them when you see them. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/42 "2016-03-26T08:58:39Z")
> [@lel](#): > > You have to bag your own groceries and pay for grocery bags. At the one my family used to go to, you also had to put a quarter in some contraption to get a cart, and you got the quarter back when you put the cart back. That’s usual in Europe. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to pack my bags the way I want them packed. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/43 "2016-03-26T09:05:05Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > How do you feel about Trader Joe’s? I can’t think of any reason to shop there. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/44 "2016-03-26T20:45:30Z")
I believe that Aldi’s pays a higher starting wage for their employees then the regular chain stores. I like that the cashiers can sit if they choose - it doesn’t make sense to make someone stand all day on a concrete floor if they don’t have to. Their products are fine. Milk seems to stay fresh a day or two longer than the milk from Kroger or Walmart. I like to browse down their “Special products” aisle, where you might find an electric skillet next to a treadmill. Their dark-chocolate covered sea-salt caramels are fantastic. StG ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/45 "2016-03-26T22:17:43Z")
I do most of my shopping at my local ALDI, and like the quality of nearly everything I’ve tried. ---
**Author:** ![heartsplayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d9b06d/32.png) [@heartsplayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heartsplayer)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/46 "2016-03-26T22:49:22Z")
They have ALDI stores in the United Kingdom as well. I’ve never been into one to do my weekly shopping, but it’s got to be half decent, otherwise it wouldn’t be allowed to sell stuff - right? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/47 "2016-03-27T00:47:41Z")
There is a U.S. owned competitor to Aldi called Save-A-Lot. One thing that Save-A-Lots have that are better IMHO than Aldi are their produce sections. They are more like miniature versions of regular supermarket produce sections than those of Aldi. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/48 "2016-03-27T00:57:11Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > There is a U.S. owned competitor to Aldi called Save-A-Lot. One thing that Save-A-Lots have that are better IMHO than Aldi are their produce sections. They are more like miniature versions of regular supermarket produce sections than those of Aldi. In my area, the ALDI produce sections blow Savalot produce sections out of the water. But you are right that Savalot is on the same pattern as ALDI, being almost all house brands with multiple names to try to disguise that they are almost all house brands. I find ALDI a little higher quality though, with more imported foods. I love German foods, it is the taste of my childhood. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/49 "2016-03-27T03:37:45Z")
ALDI opened its first store here in October. I really like it and shop there often. One of my favorites is the boneless, skinless chicken breasts that sell for $1.49 lb. every couple of weeks. Milk for $1.99 gal. , eggs $1.29-$1.59 doz. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/50 "2016-03-27T18:09:23Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > ALDI opened its first store here in October. I really like it and shop there often. One of my favorites is the boneless, skinless chicken breasts that sell for $1.49 lb. every couple of weeks. Milk for $1.99 gal. , eggs $1.29-$1.59 doz. At the ALDI in Kansas City near me, a dozen eggs are $.79 this week. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/51 "2016-03-27T18:32:40Z")
> [@Phouchg](#): > > strip mall in Woodbridge, VA. ALDI > [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > ALDI opened its first store > [@gaffa](#): > > At the ALDI in Kansas City It’s not a fucking acronym. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/52 "2016-03-27T20:02:46Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > It’s not a fucking acronym. It’s a brand, and I’ve never seen it in mixed case. Save your annoyance for people who call it “Aldi’s” ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Fairway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Mrs\_Fairway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Fairway)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/53 "2016-03-27T20:18:49Z")
I love Aldi, too and if they had everything, I probably wouldn’t go anywhere else. Mine is clean and the staff are friendly and helpful. I get all my dairy products and eggs there and cannot tell a difference from anyone else’s. They also have the best bacon. Baby peas are the same as LeSeur. They also have some great deals on whatever they stock in that ever-changing middle aisle. I got an enamel cast iron dutch oven for $30. I had been looking at them elsewhere for $200. The only thing I tried that I didn’t like was the Polish sausage. At mine, many people will give you their cart, not take your quarter and ask you to pass it on to the next person. Love Aldi. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/54 "2016-03-27T21:23:27Z")
Here’s a story about how Aldi is on a major expansion push and [is blowing Wal-Mart](http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/wal-mart-loses-everyday-low-price-edge-as-aldi-opens/article_c45c520d-b76f-5548-a0a3-4bba4b074fbb.html) out of the water when it comes to everyday low prices. In my own experience. . . Aldi is the master of stripped down operations. You have to pay a quarter for a shopping cart (you’ll get it back when you return the cart.), You pay for a shopping bag. You bag your own groceries. More importantly, most of the things they sell come in one brand and one size. If you want flour you get a five-pound bag of plain Aldi flour. If you want canned beans, you get a 16-ounce can of their canned beans. Period. Not that there’s anything wrong with their stuff. Their flour is perfectly good, and their canned beans taste approximately like anyone else’s. It’s all solid, reliable store-brand quality. When it comes to produce, their selection is limited, but it rotates every week. Fresh meat is the only real disappointment – my local stores have a single refrigerator cabinet for all their fresh meats. There’s nothing wrong with their pork chops, if all you want is pork chops. And sometimes they have little surprises, like German pastries one week and a laptop computer the next. The only thing really wrong with Aldi is the feeling you’ve stepped back in time and are shopping in a Soviet food co-op in 1959. ---
**Author:** ![IBMJunkman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e9bcb4/32.png) [@IBMJunkman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IBMJunkman)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/55 "2016-04-12T02:13:25Z")
People in Europe have been ‘renting’ the shopping carts for decades. Esselunga, in Italy, even offered a keychain with a holder for a cart token. Used with your car keys you always had a coin/token for the cart. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/56 "2016-04-12T11:01:11Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > It’s not a fucking acronym. Actually, it is—Aldi stands for ‘ **Al** brecht **Di** skont’. (Acronyms don’t have to only consist of first letters, see e.g. ‘Benelux’.) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/57 "2016-04-13T18:32:52Z")
To me Aldi is the place to go to get all your canned stuff, boxed pasta, gallons of OJ and milk, frozen pizza, seafood, etc to stock up. I don’t generally buy any of their produce aside from stuff like bags of apples or something similar. This is Kroger country here in the Cincinnati area and they are WAY more expensive on the previously named items than Aldi. If a gallon of milk is $2.50 at Kroger, it’s $1.50 at Aldi. I generally save about 40% shopping there and the quality is just fine. I also like the fact that their employees make great starting pay, $13.50/hr to start for cashiers and a store manager right out of college makes $75-80k to start. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686/58 "2016-04-13T19:17:53Z")
You canNOT beat the Fresh Meat Special Buy. I mean, if it’s what you want. You are not going to find anything even close to that price elsewhere. I try not to think about what that means for how the meat is raised. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-aldi/178686.md?page=2)