I just opened our junk mail roll and there is an ad for ALDI store....never heard of them...have you? 

I think they are based out of Germany. I know Chicago had them for a while now. 

We have been pleased with the prices and the quality of the products. 

Yes they are big up North...I was born in Chicago, my grandmother used to shop there ALL THE TIME. They do not sack your groceries, that is up to you.

I won't shop there, they sell nothing that is organic...yep, I'm a food snob!

I hear they have good prices, but I don't buy enough of what they sell to justify going there. I'll stick with H.E.B. 

I haven't gone but a friend did, she said the store in Humble was small and crowded. Most of the items were off brands, she didn't buy much but what she did get was acceptable.
I'll stick to Kroger or HEB or Randalls. 

Good to know....it didn't look like an appealing place according to the ads. 

thread about Aldi 

Aldi in Minnesota was NASTY. Dirty, I'll maintained, gross feeling and only took cash. I'm hoping they have changed for the better. 

I went, got some great deals on items. I'm not picky with food, even at HEB I tend to buy off brand. The store was clean and staff was friendly for it being so busy. It was small, but I felt like I was shopping at HEB on a normal sat or sun. Except I got a spot lol. If you drink a lot of milk I recommend them and eggs too ! 

They are a German company. Not worth ditching HEB over a few cents. 

I went today and found some good deals and some that were about the same as Kroger/Randalls. They were very clean and the staff was friendly and helpful.

Know before you go:

1. You'll need a quarter to get a cart. You get it back when you return the cart.

2. They only take cash/debit/EBT cards. No credit cards

3. BYO bags.

If you're not looking for name brands, there are some good deals. For me, I'll stick to Kroger and hit Aldi for the occasional, can't pass it up, deal. 

The stores in Germany are very nice. The one's up north are yucky and nothing like the German ones, and to be fair, I have not gone to the one here, yet. 

We are still scarred from the Aldi's we experienced on the East coast... they were basically homeless shelters with stacked food inside. Seriously! They did not have freakin' shelves! All of the boxes and cans were stacked on the floor, and shopping carts were locked so you had to insert a quarter to release one. The prices were really cheap, but all of the products were one-off store brands, like Uncle Joe's Imitation Crab Meat, and I swear I saw a can of plankton from Mexico....

We now use Aldi as a threat to our children as to where we will take them if they do not behave.

Maybe one day we will gain the courage (or get drunk enough) to venture in... but until then, no way. 

LOL! 

LOL, Aldi is not bad at all. It is a warehouse type grocery. The fruits and veggies are really fresh and great prices. I am addicted to some Clancy white frosted pretzels. In fact, I need to stay away for that reason only. Milk is $1.89 and eggs are 79 cents. The quarter basket is really a good idea. Everyone brings their cart back to get their quarter instead of leaving it to hit your car. They've given me bags every time I have gone but a nice handle bag is 11 cents. I haven't spent more than $20 each time, but it is worth the trip if you don't care about brands. The strawberries were awesome and still fresh almost a week later. 

Mrs. Tinman went for the avocado, hamburger, and milk specials. She made guacamole yesterday and it was pretty good. In other words, the .29 avocados tasted the same as the 1.00 ones at Kroger or HEB.

She wasn't too thrilled with how crowded the store was.

Overall, she pretty much mirrored what kpcmom said. She'll go back for the can't pass up deals and stay local for the rest. 

Update on Aldi... (from Mrs. Tinman)

Yesterday I went to Aldi for a few staple items. I must say that even though they specialize in their own store brands, I will shop here very frequently. Fortunately for me I stay home and go at off hours (Not weekend) So that being said, for $59.10, this is what I got. I haven't been disappointed in any of their store items. Can't say the same for HEB/Randall's/Kroger/Walmart store brands.

Gallon of milk
Peanut butter
Vidalia Onions
Frozen Corn
Protein Bars
Cat foot
Sour Cream
Paper Plates
Corned beef hash
Frozen but uncooked Italian Sausage
Large Cooked Shrimp
2+ pounds lean ground beef
Center Cut Pork Chops
1 lb bacon
1 lb breakfast sausage
butter
heavy whipping cream
can of peach slices
can of whole new potatoes
mixed nuts
flour tortillas
Peanut Butter Wafers
Swiss Rolls
Parmesan Cheese
Deluxe American Cheese Slices
Sandwich white bread
6ct Everything bagels

I challenge anyone to go to one of the aforementioned stores and try to get the same amount of food for the same price.

Just sayin...if you can get past the fact that the store is less than fancy, as am I, you put a whole quarter!!! in the shopping cart to use it and you bag your own groceries (bring bags, they charge .10 for plastic, .06 for paper) then give it a shot. I am able to feed Tinman and myself breakfast, lunch and dinner for close to a week on that $59.10. The store is clean and employees are friendly and no, I am not affiliated with Aldi.

And for anyone getting ready to judge my grocery list, please don't. It's just not the meaning of the post. 

We went on Saturday for the first time & picked up a few things. 2 different meats, produce, fruit, the strawberries were .99 cents a carton & USA grown, crackers, cheese for a party we had & I spent $40... Oh and a box of these mid size donuts, bigger than donut holes, yet smaller than a normal size donut, they were very good. 

@Drama Mama/Mrs. Tinman, How do you prepare the cat foot. J/K 

I've been there several times and really do save money. I wait until I have a big enough list to make it worth the drive but also try to fill up my gas tank. The Murphys there is usually 10-15 cents less then here in Kingwood. My boys have approved there cereals and the chocolate bars with hazelnuts are super good 

Just Stuck~

Over toast triangles with a sprinkling of parmesan. Yummy...lol 

DramaMama --- 18 min ago - quote - hide comments
Just Stuck~

Over toast triangles with a sprinkling of parmesan. Yummy...lol

Sounds like a good lunch... 

I visited the one in Conroe as well as Tomball and had good experience. My husband really likes their 12 grain bread. The kids have tried 5 of their cereals and not noticed a difference with them or the milk, eggs or cheese. By the way...their eggs have a quote from Psalms on inside of the carton. My bill is about 40% less than it has been. I go during the week and it is a pretty quick visit. A lot fewer aisles to maneuver through. 

I hit Aldi every week. I won't buy milk or eggs anywhere else unless I am too lazy to go there if I am in Kroger already. I love the white chocolate pretzels, in fact too much so they have to stay off my list. My husband didn't notice any difference in his off brand Cheerios and he is picky. I took them out of the box though to see! The only downside is there is not as many products as a regular grocery. I, also, didn't see much extra value in meat. I always forget my bags so I have a bunch of 10 cent bags. They are great for a lot of things and only 10 cents! 

We stopped in there today to check it out. They have some good prices on things if you don't mind off brand items.

Is their meat good?

We plan on going back during the week to shop as we didn't plan on going but drove by and decided to check it out. It reminds me of a miniature SAMs club without having to buy in bulk. 

Sounds like me ladybeach...I switched out some stuff with my son, and he liked most of the Aldi stuff better..He was having a fit when I shopped there saying he was getting "rip off stuff" . Havent bought any meat there, bought a few frozen foods, some were good, some not. That big ole pizza was not very good. I go there first, and get staples, then head to HEB for the rest. I have cut my grocery bill by about 20% 

Aldi's Goat Cheese Roll-$1.99. Good stuff! 

We have liked everything except their pork hops. Too salty. 

Do they have organic fruits and vegetables? 

I just went there tonight. I bought a butt load of stuff for $66.00. If I bought the same items at HEB or Kroger, I would have easily spent $100-$150 

I was there this morning just to grab some OJ and came out with a bunch of stuff for $16. Banana's for 39 cents a lb. I always get the eggs and milk because I normally throw away half of the gallon because we just don't drink much so getting it at $1.89 helps not to feel guilty when I pour it down the drain. I didn't see my white chocolate pretzels so that was good.