Aldi

What's with their weird cattle call floor plan? Like when I end up leaving because they dont have any brands for my girlfriend, or quality produce/cooking ingredients for me, it makes it really hard to just leave.
Reminds me of being in line at Disney or something

>all the spices look like they should be avoided
Euro living in USica here.
The paprika is the best bang-for-the-buck paprika I've had in the US so far. It doesn't quite compare to the proper stuff from back home, but it comes pretty close. If the good stuff from home is 10/10 and Pride of Szeged brand here in the US is 9/10, Aldi storebrand paprika is about 8-8,5/10.
I can't speak to the relative quality of the chili powder and cumin powder as none are typical of my native kitchen and I am therefore not nearly as familiar with them as I am with paprika, but they're both pretty good, IMO. I use them to make chili.

>whole or shredded cheese isn't a good buy
Not quite. Depends on the cheese. They have import cheeses that are the same high quality European stuff sold at more highly-regarded stores but at a fraction of the price. The American-made cheeses, however, I can get cheaper elsewhere except for the American parmesan (which tastes more like the Czech grana moravia cheese than parmesan). That parmesan is also quite good and quite cheap.
>the produce they do carry all seems to be a better deal
Again, it depends. The zucchini and mushrooms are usually a good deal as are the cucumbers but I've horrible luck with the onions. They rot more quickly than onions from other stores because Aldi, regardless of which location I've been to, stores them very near the potatoes. Potatoes and onions react with one another when stored in close proximity, making both rot more quickly than they would were they stored separately.
I can generally get a better deal on most other produce elsewhere, especially fruit (other than banana).

My most recent big purchase was imported Italian smoked porchetta which was very cheap at $8/lb (the hoity toity store nearby sells the same stuff for $25.99/lb). The original price was $14/lb but they marked it down. They're sold in quarter pound vac packs, perfect for freezing, so I bought 5lbs of it.

>>8160651
>What should I definitely buy here and what should I definitely buy at a real grocery store?

Depends on which country you're in.

>>8160651
I'll get stuff like canned goods, dried foods (beans, pasta, rice, etc) fresh produce, milk, etc there. Staples and basic ingredients where the brand really doesn't matter. I go in the middle of the day when no one else is there and just walk around picking up stuff that's a really good deal. They had 10lb bags of potatoes for $1 a while back and a gallon of milk was selling for $.90 at one time. Their maple syrup is also a pretty good deal. Sometimes they have random stuff on sale at prices that no one else can beat too, I always check the sales circular when it comes in the mail.

From what I've seen, most of their frozen foods and meat/dairy isn't any cheaper than other grocery stores in the area (except for milk, they always have the best prices on gallons of milk). I try to rotate through the local grocery stores to get an idea of who has the best quality and prices for certain items. I shop at Aldi, Super Target, WalMart, Albertson's, Winco, and Kroger.

>>8160699
I get maple syrup from the regular supermarket. It's cheaper and of the same high quality. 32oz from regular place for $13.99 while 8.5oz from Aldi is $4.99.

That might not be the case in your area, though, but it certainly is here.

>>8160686
In addition to this, a lot of the junk food's pretty nice. And I get wholefat yogurt there for cheap.
Pantry and fridge staples are generally priced well. Frozen foods are only worth it on manager's special. Last year, I got a whole duck for $8 which sounds like a lot but they're usually around $15. Roasted it with apples for Christmas.
At my local Aldi, ham drops down to $5 each /regardless of weight/ two times a year, once right after New Year's and again right after Easter. Since I prefer duck on Christmas and eat whateverthefuck on Easter, I don't mind picking up a ham or two for the freezer when that happens.

I usually skip the whole first part of the aisle because it's a lot of junk food. But I do buy milk and eggs there and some of the higher-end Cheese's. I always check the expiration dates and the salmon and Frozen shrimp are also pretty good.

>>8160651
the macarons they had were okay
it makes me excited for real macarons

sadly I bought some for my mom and she hated them

the produce is mediocre, but cheap
the dairy is mediocre, but cheap
the meat is cheap, but mediocre
that's just aldis, if you care about quality, go literally anywhere else

Chocolate

>>8160651
wines are very good....................i hate shopping there cos of their chaotic layout.....really messy, selling random tat next to groceries etc

>>8160651
Wait they have aldi in America? Thought it was UK only.

>>8160814
Yeah, there are over 1,000 stores here. I live in a town of 18k and even we have an Aldi.

.

>>8160814
>Thought it was UK only.

For a start the entire company is German...

>>8160651

If you're in Europe, the cheese and deli meats are excellent. The wine is reasonable, and canned goods are cheap and cheerful.

No idea about America, didn't even know Aldi was there.

>>8160651
Produce is usually a good value there, my local Aldi has the cheapest watermelons during the summer. For snack foods, their Kettle Chips are really good, and they also have some seasonal items that make great snacks. The European cheeses are also a good value. I assume that you're in the US. I've only been to Aldi once in Europe, so IDK what is good to buy there, but it had a wider selection than the US stores.

>>8160810
Its strange. I'm in Chicago which is one of the few places in the country you can buy hard liquor basically anywhere, yet Aldi doesn't have any of their dirt cheap wine in my store.