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4 reviews for Aldi
4 reviews in English
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Review from Danielle P.
RIVERDALE, MD
1/27/2012
Aldi is targeted shopping for the Recessionista.
If you want to save money, this is a good place to pick up some staples like frozen veggies, nuts, dry and canned goods. Some of the frozen pizzas looked as good as Trader Joe's - spinach and goat cheese for example - but were $2.00 cheaper. Plus they have random non-grocery items like a memory foam bathmat for $7.99 - way less than Bed Bath and Beyond and it seemed nearly as good. I wasn't shopping for fresh produce so I didn't examine it closely but it all looked reasonably fresh to me.
Some people may find the following bothersome - You pay 50 cents for a grocery cart and you have to bag your own groceries. (They were selling reusable bags when I was there.) The lines are long at peak shopping hours. They only take cash or debit cards.
This is not as upscale as the Aldi I've shopped at in suburban Chicago which had more of a Costco feel, nor like the Aldi Markt in Berlin, which is jam-packed with more non-grocery items as well as more gourmet foods. But this Aldi is fine and gives a good, less expensive alternative to the Safeway or Giant when buying dry goods and frozen items. Aldi is the parent company of Trader Joe's.Listed in: DC/MD/NoVA
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Review from Paul D.
10/13/2011 17 photos
In a nutshell: It's a "Poor-Man's Trader Joe's."
Nothing makes me more despondent then shopping at a place like this...
It's another symptom of what's wrong with our society. In a word: "Disconnect."
ALDI is short for "Albrecht Discount", and is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany. They are also the owners of Trader Joe's.
ALDI can best be described as a cross between a Trader Joe's and a Costco. It's about the size of a Trader Joe's and everything is generic. Like a Trader Joe's they only carry one of every item (their brand). Limiting their inventory to less than 1,400 items. As compared to a regular Supermarket that carries over 30,000 different items.
I felt uncomfortable walking through here. Maybe it was because I brought my own bag and was filling it until it got heavy and then I checked out. Because I didn't have a quarter to gain access to one of the shopping carts in the parking lot. The isles are so small that you wouldn't want to use a cart here anyway. So, I just used my big canvas grocery bag. Others were doing the same.
There are only about five isles and most everything is on pallets with generic labels that vaguely resemble name brands. There are names like "Happy Farms" and "Cooks Corner." Also, their little produce stand wasn't refrigerated. You don't come here from fresh produce, that's for sure.
There is something fundamentally wrong with having to forgo knowing who manufactures what you eat. All this standardized, generic food is disturbing. And yet I've been buying "Store Brand" generic meats & cheeses for years from Giant. However, this began back when Giant was locally owned by Izzy Cohen and not the Netherlands-based Royal Ahold. So, I guess it's a false comfort that I have with some store brands.
Nevertheless, none of the labels here indicated where it was manufactured or sourced. It only said "Distributed By ALDI Inc Batavia IL." So, are we to assume that because it looks just like Land O'Lakes, Green Giant, or Kraft Singles with a different names, that it's from the same Factory? To say nothing of where the undisclosed factory sources the ingredients to make the things we eat and drink everyday. Hasn't anyone ever heard of Soylent Green? http://en.wikipedia.or...
This is just a step away from that dystopia. LOL
ALDI sells "just the basics," and what they are saying is that It's all the same crap. So come here, bring your own bags, bag your own groceries, pay CASH ONLY, and don't worry about where our dairy, meat, canned & frozen food "products" come from. Because it's all private labeled, yet it looks like a familiar brand, so that's good enough.
The rub here is that ALDI is only located in lower-income neighborhoods. So, when you can barely afford to feed yourself, ALDI may be your only choice.
Products here didn't include the name ALDI. Instead, everything had weird names like "Happy Farms." I don't know if it would've mattered? I just know that I didn't like shopping here and I'm not going back.
And yet, I got 22 items of (questionable quality) food for only $40, making ALDI the Dollar Store of Food. -
Review from Michele L.
Washington, DC
6/2/2011 5 Check-ins Here
This is a great place to go, when you need to pick up a few items. Not pricey at all. Just be prepared to wait in line for a few extra minutes, because no matter how long and crowded this place is, there are mere enough cashiers.
Oh yeah, be kind and bring your own recyclable bag. Go Green!!!!! -
Review from Kelly G.
You get what you pay for!
Here, that means a LOT. You may not recognize the names on the packages, but whatever. Just tear the package off, throw it away, and dump your deep discount groceries into your stacking containers you bought at Williams-Sonoma anyway. No one will ever know the difference. Ooops! Did I say that? :-)
This place is sort of a cross between Cosco (because it has everything) and a Trader Joe's (the parent company, I believe) (because they offer exquisite delicacies like lime grilled tilapia or something in a package for two).
You can do your BASIC shopping for the week for about $25. Add in a few specialty items and it won't cost you that much more. And while the shopping baskets cost $0.25, and they only accept debit or cash, (i.e., NO credit cards, NO atm, I think they take ebt) just think, you'll have more money to spend on fancy restaurants to yelp about! I'm a fan.Listed in: Groceries
