Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was so disappointed when I went to Aldi's for the first time.I'd heard it compared to Trader Joe's and that what I was expecting. It was NOT like that at all.

You need to go more than once. The first time I was like-hmmm. Now I love it

I agree. I felt the same way the first time I went to Costco. Now I love them both!

I find the TJs produce goes bad quickly. Not true as much with Aldi and Aldi has the best produce prices. I don't purchase meat at either store. At TJs, we tend to use some of their creative frozen meals that are sort of different items than you might find at a regular grocery store. For Aldi, we will purchase produce, cheese, chocolate, and whatever random brand name stuff they might have at a discount. Plus the Aldi general random stuff aisle (seasonal things, outdoor items, household goods), is always fun to go through.

I will say, TJs flowers do last! My DH gets me flower bouquets from them sometimes and they last quite a while and are beautiful.

Anonymous wrote:Ok, three things I like from Aldi: iced coffee concentrate, wine, and the really cheap take n bake pizzas. They're 6$, huge, and good. Great for a really easy dinner I know my kids will eat.

Which wine do you buy at ALDI? We've tried a few without much success.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was so disappointed when I went to Aldi's for the first time.I'd heard it compared to Trader Joe's and that what I was expecting. It was NOT like that at all.

You need to go more than once. The first time I was like-hmmm. Now I love it

X2

X3. It took me a few tries to love it and now I’m hooked. I will drive out of my way to get to an ALDI. Can’t wait til a lidl is close though to us.

Anonymous wrote:Lidl >>>>> Aldi

Trust me.

Find one. Go there. Fall in love.

And don't leave without a delicious bakery cookie!

I get the best and cheapest organic produce from Lidl. I get some "inner aisle" items and their meats without issue. I'm not a fan of all of their "inner aisle" food, like crackers and chips, etc. when compared to the name brands.

Totally. I actually opened this thread to say that I just cannot go to Aldi after Lidl. They are “supposed” to be in the same category (cheap, German, limited inventory) but for me shopping at Lidl feels so much nicer. Just waiting on their promised expansion in MD - my closest one is still quite far for a weekly trip,

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was so disappointed when I went to Aldi's for the first time.I'd heard it compared to Trader Joe's and that what I was expecting. It was NOT like that at all.

You need to go more than once. The first time I was like-hmmm. Now I love it

X2

Anonymous wrote:I was so disappointed when I went to Aldi's for the first time.I'd heard it compared to Trader Joe's and that what I was expecting. It was NOT like that at all.

You need to go more than once. The first time I was like-hmmm. Now I love it

Anonymous wrote:I can find a few things at Aldi, but overall it has a slightly depressing, eastern European vibe. I get a kick out of their name brand mimicry.

Aldi and TJ are very different stores; maybe cobbling the two together could give you something close to a comprehensive supermarket. I would hate for either one to be my only grocery store option.

Ha I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks this!

Lidl >>>>> Aldi

Trust me.

Find one. Go there. Fall in love.

And don't leave without a delicious bakery cookie!

I get the best and cheapest organic produce from Lidl. I get some "inner aisle" items and their meats without issue. I'm not a fan of all of their "inner aisle" food, like crackers and chips, etc. when compared to the name brands.

I can find a few things at Aldi, but overall it has a slightly depressing, eastern European vibe. I get a kick out of their name brand mimicry.

Aldi and TJ are very different stores; maybe cobbling the two together could give you something close to a comprehensive supermarket. I would hate for either one to be my only grocery store option.

Anonymous wrote:I like Aldi's. Their frozen shepherd's pie is true comfort food. The milk is cheap, too. But, I mostly go in hopes that it is German cookie time........

This x 1000. Also the pain au chocolate. Aldi is a German company and is serious about chocolate. Also, no GMO, trans fat or high fructose corn syrup in ANY of their products. Seriously cheaper and faster to get through than any other market and CLEAN.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aldi's is smaller, less crowded, and much faster to get through. It also has so much less prepared food and specialty items that I find myself spending half as much as when I go to Trader Joe's, there just isn't the temptation. I have had to simplify my grocery lists or supplement, but that is mostly for Asian items or hit or miss things like specific herbs you can't always find at TJ either. Mainly I'm an Aldi loyalist because i hate shopping and it's faster.

I enjoy shopping at Trader Joe's. It tends to put a smile on my face.

It's the packed aisles in Alexandria (where you can't turn around if you missed something or had a new idea) with a toddler that ruined it for me. Not every TJ's is like that, but I've never been in that one without feeling like it was a single file line through most of the store.

You mean the one in Old Town? Yeah, that's not the best laid out, and it's crowded. A lot of the newer ones are better laid out. Still I don't generally find the OT TJs that bad (I am generally only there on weekends). Also I don't have a toddler, so that probably makes it easier.

I do like the way the light streams in at that particular store though.

I ran across this and found it had some really good info:

https://food52.com/blog/24321-best-aldi-secrets

Now I want to go to Aldi!

Anonymous wrote:Ok, three things I like from Aldi: iced coffee concentrate, wine, and the really cheap take n bake pizzas. They're 6$, huge, and good. Great for a really easy dinner I know my kids will eat.

Iced coffee concentrate?? I have never noticed that! Granted we are in MD so can’t get wine either.

As others have said they are just different and it depends what you like to buy. For comparable items, prices tend to be lower at Aldi. Produce can be a mixed bag at both but I got nice grapes at Aldo for 99 cents a pound. Bigger and cheaper meat selection at Aldi, but we don't eat a ton of meat and the selection of meatless items like tempeh/tofu are better at Trader Joe’s. Although we don’t buy a lot of prepared foods my kids like the fresh pasta from TJ’s and I use the quick cooking farro for salads all the time in the summer.

Neither is really a complete grocery store for us but Trader Joe’s gets us closer so I go there more often. But Aldi tends to be less hectic so if I need to go midday on a weekend it is a better option.

Ok, three things I like from Aldi: iced coffee concentrate, wine, and the really cheap take n bake pizzas. They're 6$, huge, and good. Great for a really easy dinner I know my kids will eat.