Here’s a mini-rant: my local Aldi has been rearranged. I memorized the old layout because I write my grocery list in the order of the store. Now I have to relearn the layout so I can get everything I need without having to circle around eight or nine times. They’ve also moved the produce section to the front by the entrance so you have ram your cart through the gauntlet of little old ladies inspecting every inch of every cauliflower just to get to the rest of the store.
I like Aldi, but I shudder at the prospect of buying produce there.
I’ve never seen so many wilted, sad veggies before, but maybe that’s just ours… which always reminds me of Chris Rock’s rant about his local “black supermarket”.
– no A/C, apples have worms, doors don’t work right, etc… oh, and “there’s nothing fresh!”.
Background for my weird rant: my mom moved in with me after my father passed away. We share household expenses, including a few vacations per year to the area of Maine where she and Dad were planning to retire. Obviously, we’ve missed these trips this year. As a consolation, I had discussed doing something nice for both of us – a complete upgrade of the entertainment center in the living room, or even purchasing a new vehicle (our ‘newest’ vehicle is 11 years old).
She’s in the process of bringing my birthday gifts downstairs, and it looks like freakin’ Christmas. 
She says it’s not going overboard, and that she felt like she needed to do something because we missed our big trip this year. I’m not so worried about the expense to her, but I had really thought we were in agreement on saving for something big that would benefit both of us. And plus, I really feel bad about her trying to make up for the lack of trips with stuff.
Heh. A few years ago our local Food Lion underwent a remodel, and complete strangers would complain to me in the aisles and in the checkout line about it. I am not a Food Lion employee nor do I impersonate one. It’s amazing how much a relatively benign change like this can upset people.
I don’t trust their produce either. The only fresh veg I get there is the bagged baby carrots. Maybe the cherries when they’re in season because they’re about a dollar cheaper than the local chain grocery.
I haven’t had any problem with Aldi veg. They have a good baby lettuce, organic. Also green onions , and cucumbers. Maybe it’s the Aldis you’re going to?
You aren’t going to convince anyone that you’re not a cat lover when you’ve openly admitted that you not only maintain three of them, but you just bought them their own blanket! My faithful dog, of course, always slept in my room with me, though not on the bed. But if cats were annoying me at night, I would firmly punt them out of the room and close the door. The next morning, of course, they would all give me hateful glares of the “if looks could kill” variety, but since that’s the way cats pretty much always look at humans, I wouldn’t even notice. They always seem to have this fervent murderous wish that they were much bigger and we were much smaller.
I can sort of see why he might have thought it was your cat…
One way or another, to the cats, we’re a source of food.
I think every store in this town has been rearranged excepting the neighborhood Walmarts that have only been open a couple of years. Fairly obviously enabled by low stock levels making room on the shelves to shuffle things around.
My rant. Give me my Dr Pepper with real sugar dammit!
Damp weather is causing sore joints…oh joy old age…
Don’t trust it to do what? They’re just onions and avocados, ferchrissakes.
Tell me about it. I went to the farmers market this morning, which involved taking the bus and then walking for 10-15 minutes both ways. By the time I got home my knees were killing me.
Yeah, and I explained that the cats lived in the neighborhood. But I don’t know what he thought I could do about his barbecue. 
Cats are pissed because they are nature’s perfect killing machines but they are small and we keep picking them up and kissing them. (Stolen from somewhere.)
That would be purrfect killing machine. And purrfect would be if they always ate what they killed. Meaning not leaving a cold dead mouse outside my bedroom door to squish in the morning.
I love my neighborhood Aldi, but almost never buy their produce. A bin with a handful of sorry onions, and some overripe bananas. I usually check out the produce anyway, in hopes of finding something usable.
But the rest of the store has treasures that make up for the produce.
I disagree. Produce quality is quite variable between stores, and those differences are usually fairly predictable. Around here, I rate them in three categories:
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The produce in the ordinary grocery store – whether discount or conventional doesn’t much matter. This is the lowest grade of edible produce, IMO, and is often pretty crappy – produce with ripeness issues, lots of imperfections, and just generally crappy looking, unless it’s something locally produced and in season.
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The produce in better stores that care more about quality. A good example locally is a small chain of family-owned stores that have noticeably better quality produce as well as better quality meats and fish, and a lot of fairly decent prepared foods.
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The upscale boutique grocery I sometimes go to, which has superb produce, excellent basic meats and wide assortments of raw and prepared gourmet foods (it’s been favorably compared with Fauchon in Paris). Where they get such consistently wonderful produce (and other goods) I’ll never know, but it’s true. The remarkable thing is that although they tend to have bigger markups than other stores to be able to cater to a luxury shopping experience, most of the produce is hardly more expensive at all, and so is a great value.
I’m with @wolfpup. There can be massive differences in the quality of fruits and veggies depending on the store. I’ve never had luck with Aldi’s. I’ll buy bagged salad, that’s it.
Unfortunately, Trader Joe’s is also moving into the no fruits/veggies category.
Sure, I’ll grant there’s a difference in quality. The produce at Wal-Mart isn’t the same as what’s offered at Whole Foods or Central Market.
It was the “don’t trust the produce” line that rankled a bit. It’s not raw chicken that’s gone bad, just limes that aren’t as juicy.
Back to the topic at hand: I didn’t sleep well last night (combo of noisy-ass neighbors & clogged sinuses) and I have a giant screaming case of idonwanna today.
Gotta be at work in 20 minutes, and I’m still unshowered and non-breakfasted.
To paraphrase the old quote: Naked, stinky, and hungry is no way to go through life … or to work.
Not rot fifteen minutes after I get it home. Aldi produce always seems to go bad quicker than other stores’ produce. At least around here.