No Aldi close enough to us to make a trip worthwhile.
My brother shops at one near him in FL.
He likes it. He's a bargain hunter, plus he likes the simplicity of not having too many different options.
" you want peanut butter? you have 2 choices. creamy or crunchy. "
I have heard some rumblings that one will be coming closer to us soon, but current projections are not until next year at the earliest.
The nearby Aldi is really hit or miss for us. Don't like their chips or most of their desserts, their cheeses are okay, the stovetop stuffing, corned beef hash, pickles, spices and a few other things are fine. The local store's employees seem willing and helpful.
We bought our Kamander there for less than half price! However….
After packages of high-smelling chicken and pork, we never buy fresh meat there.
We have some close enough that my wife will go on her off days. We like Clancy’s chips and other fine snacks. The only thing I don’t like is their ice cream. I find it’s pretty bland. We’ve only bought chicken and pork from there and we like it.
My MIL, on the other hand is a true Aldi die hard fan. My FIL hates it so I always love stoking that fire whenever we eat at their house, especially when there is any Italian food on the table. He’s Italian and likes his Italian meats and sausages from the local Italian market and pastas from certain pasta brands. I get a kick out of it.
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
I like it for a couple of things like their Choceur chocolate bars and halloumi "fries".
My annual purchase there occurs a week or two after St. Patty's Day. I get corned beef points at a good price for making pastrami. They're usually around 3.5 lbs.
MAK 2 Star pellet
Big Green Egg
Fuego gasser
Pitboss ceramic griddle
Eastman Outdoors wok burner
Ooni 16 pizza oven
Cast iron chimenea with pizza steel
Breeo smokeless fire pit, with Titan rotisserie and Titan Santa Maria style adjustable grate
Oklahoma Joe Bronco
No Aldi in Pacific Northwest. But, checked one out in Phoenix. Nice, simple. However, nearby, a Tamarind Cash & Carry. Had just read a Wall St Journal review of real foods like Tamarind. Rental car zoned in. Plenty of time before Mariners spring training game. Bought 2 packets of actual tamarind. Cheap. A very Indian store. No idea what I will do with it.
Left Phoenix today, on Allegiant to Pasco, WA. Carry on only. Turns out the seasoning pastes, etc, which I purchased at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and the Indian store are treated as liquids exceeding the 120 ml or so limit. So, checked bag for a mere $75, to save my $40 or so of purchases. Pardon me if this comes off as a partial rant.
It is nice to get back to standard 2 lane interstates. Phoenix, 3 lane one direction, varying up to 6 lane one direction, can get both cornfusing and sporadically terrifying. I joke that, growing up in central Nebraska, no one used turn signals, because everyone knew where you were going.
When I'm in a town for a week and there's an Aldi there, I always make sure to grab some of their heat-and-go items. During my most recent visit, I stumbled upon something new in that section - Irish Beef Stew. Although it looked delicious, I had to pass on it since it's not Paleo-friendly.
Fusia is Aldi's brand for Asian foods and their rice noodle bowls are only available occasionally. I've tried their red and green curries and they have a decent kick to them.
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