Aldi

[brucesw]

First trip in a couple of weeks today.  My store had no pork bellies nor any blank spaces in the meat cases where there might have been some.  I sure hope this makes it here.  It hasn't been mentioned in the circulars (this week's edition is late in arriving).

 

The Brie was back; I got the last of it.

 

I was sorry to see for the second time the Specially Selected Sea Salt Pita Chips were missing.  I've been buying those for months and really like them.  I bought a box of the Savoritz Sea Salt Pita Crackers and I am not happy with them as a replacement.

 

There was a dearth of dark chocolate options where the chocolates are displayed.  That had better be an abberation!

 

I've been trying pulled pork products (refrigerated) to see if any are any good.  I tried TJ's previously and while it's not bad it's not what I want.  I was hoping the Aldi/Appleton Farms would be more of a Carolina style product with vinegar and mustard listed in the ingredients for the sauce before the tomato products but it was cloyingly sweet.  I did not like it on it's own at all but could get it down with a generous dollop of plain yellow mustard stirred in or liberally spread on buns.  I won't be buying this again.  I have the HEB product in the fridge and will try it in a few days but don't expect it to be what I want, either.  There are probably good Carolina style pulled pork products available but I'm not interested in doing mail order for this so expect to be making my own.

[MelissaH]

My verdict on the Crispy Oats and Honey Nut Crispy Oats: they're OK. Compared to the Wegmans brand, the Honey Nut variety (especially) seems rougher, almost shaggy, on the outside. They're noticeably sweeter. I think I prefer Wegmans enough to spend an extra $0.30 for the box.

[Mysstwalker]

We had the Appleton Farms Pork Belly that was in Hoisin sauce. One thing I wasnt aware of is that the pork belly is fully cooked. I had thought it was raw product that was marinating in the sauce. So, 35 minutes in the oven later, sliced it up. Was an extremely large amount of fat, and hardly any meat it seemed. It was ok, but not as tender and melty as it should have been. I think I will stick with getting pork belly at Costco and do my own so it will be the way I want it. I still have the other one from Aldi in my freezer, I will eventually cook it up and chop into small pieces, and use them for ramen and topping congee.

[kayb]

Made a swing by Aldi today -- alas, no pork belly, nor any sign there ever was or would be any pork belly. I started checking when it was first mentioned on here. I did pick up a 2 1/2 pound boneless Boston butt, which went in the freezer, which of course did not win me any freezer clean out points, but it's a good size for me. We shall see how it manifests itself later on. Also found ahi tuna, 12 ounces for $5 and change, in the frozen foods, so I grabbed a bag of that; one four-ounce portion is enough to make a nice bit of poke, and I want to try to make the preserved tuna in oil that @ProfessionalHobbit referenced a few weeks back and I saved.

 

Oh, and sea salt caramel chocolate covered almonds. Aka crack. I would seriously buy those things from a street corner dealer if it was the only way I could get them.

 

[Martin Fisher]

I was there the other day for heavy cream, mostly.

They did have the pork belly, but the price is unreasonable, IMHO.

They also had a heck of a lot of the brie in stock.

[rotuts]

does the ALDI Brie  ' age '  i.e. at room temp get runny and flavorful ?

 

there seem to be two processes these days on Brie etc

 

some age and run , some don't.

[MelissaH]

As for the pork belly, we tried the hoisin version for dinner last night (with steamed broccoli and a quick carrot/jicama pickle, and a couscous mixture). 35 minutes in the Breville SmartOven, when the interior tested at 165 °F, then out to pour the rest of the liquid from the package and under the broiler to turn it into a glaze. At least, that was my intent. The liquid was so thin it just ran off the belly, and I kept on seeing little orange poofs inside the oven as if the fat were aerosolizing and bursting into flame. I had no success in getting any kind of a glazed crust. Next time, I'd either use the larger oven (which seems silly, given the size of the belly) or find a different way to cook entirely; possibly heat the packet with the Anova and then toss it into a hot cast-iron skillet?

 

I still have a pack of the other flavor to experiment with.

Edited February 1, 2017 by MelissaH (log)

[GlorifiedRice]

Aldi has has Wagyu Ground Beef! hhhhmmm

 

[rotuts]

@GlorifiedRice 

 

that's quite interesting

 

not going into Style vs RealDeal  

 

the GB does not have much fat in it.

 

Ive only had KB once , and it was from TJ's as a formed pattie     4 / lbs

 

I tried that and is had so much fat I took the rest back.

 

so  Im wondering what ALDI it trying to market   

 

could this be ground Kobe-Style cow  but them trying to make it from the leaner parts ?  Round etc

 

anyway , how does it taste to you cooked for a 'burger? ' 

[IndyRob]

I'd actually be more inclined to trust the Specially Selected label than the reference to Kobe Style.  Although it's just their store brand, I don't think I've had a Specially Selected labelled product that was bad. It looks like it's Australian Wagyu, which is likely a cross breed and has not been treated to spa days at the Japanese biergarten.

 

Given that it's ground beef, the fat content is probably simply a consequence of what they wanted the fat content to be (i.e. the most marketable percentage).  Adding fat is easy when marbling has been ground out of the equation.

[cdh]

Went to Aldi the other day... They had several varieties of the Deutsche Kuche branded sausages back on the shelves, which have proved quite good.  In the freezer they also had DK branded pork schnitzel.  Those were great as well.  I don't buy much at Aldi, but their processed meats have been uniformly good so far, between this stuff, and the pates and Jamon Serrano they had over the holiday period. 

[Toliver]

"8 Things You Don't Know About Aldi, Straight From an Insider Employee"

Quote

We are dedicated to reducing our impact on the environment. So we ask our shoppers to bring their own reusable grocery bags or buy a few at checkout to use for all their trips to Aldi. At our stores, shoppers also pack their own groceries to keep our checkout lines moving."

I noticed this Aldi's trait before Californians passed the "Ban the Plastic Grocery Bag" law. "Whatdya mean I have to buy grocery bags and then pack my own groceries?!" 

Aldi's was the first grocery store I'd been to where, at checkout, the employee at the register sat down to do their job. 

 

I liked that they have the same policy as Trader Joe's about refunds.

[cyalexa]

Tried the frozen mussels recently (plain variety). They were quite good. 

Edited April 17, 2017 by cyalexa (log)

[Martin Fisher]

"ALDI has just announced an extensive plan to remodel and expand more than 1,300 US stores by 2020.

This $1.6 billion investment is intended to make ALDI stores more welcoming for new and longtime ALDI customers."

 

"Fresh New Look"

"Environmentally Friendly Upgrades"

"More and More Fresh Items"

"Easy to Shop Store Layout"

 

"Started accepting credit cards – Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express – at all ALDI stores nationwide."

 

They're currently remodeling one of the stores here.

Grand Reopening, May 2nd.

Today I received a bulk mailed Aldi coupon—$10 off with a $50 minimum purchase. May 2-20, 2017

 

Sources:

https://corporate.aldi.us/fileadmin/fm-dam/news_and_awards/Press_Release_2017/ALDI_Store_Remodel_Investment_Press_Release_FINAL.pdf

http://www.wral.com/aldi-remodeling-and-expanding-1300-stores/16526405/

Aldi Bulk Mailed Coupon

 

[Maison Rustique]

A new Aldi recently opened near us (Kansas City, MO) and it is this new model. It's wonderful! It isn't as convenient for me as the one I usually shop, but when I happen to be over that way, I stop in.

[Martin Fisher]

We visited the newly refreshed store yesterday.

I gulped a Xanax and walked in just as if I was John Wayne—it helps me deal with crowds. LOL

There have been several changes (much of it silly cosmetics), the store has been rearranged quite a bit, the aisle seem wider, it's cleaner (for now), etc.

No noticeable increase in product.

I used the coupon....walked out with a bunch of cream, brie, etc.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2017 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[Martin Fisher]

The second store close to me (both stores are about 4 miles away in opposite directions) has now been remodeled.

They increased the size of this store (not so with the first store), it had been about the same size as the other store.

The produce section in both stores does seem to be larger.

The layout of the second store is quite different than the layout of the first store—which is annoying!!! 

They had similar layouts in the past.

Any Aldi remodeling in your area?

[IowaDee]

Yes, the one nearest to us is undergoing remodeling.  It is a small store so I'm looking forward to the new, improved model.  .

[Martin Fisher]

Ugh! 

The price of cream has jumped up! 

Was $1.69 per pint—now $1.99 per pint!!! 

[lindag]

My favorite grocery is in a small town about ten minutes south of here.  They just finished a major remodeling job with splendid results.  It's a very large store for such a small town and it's open 24 hours!!  The 'new' store has wider aisles because (as I heard one of the longtime checkers tell a customer) because people meet their neighbors and stop in the middle of the aisles to visit.  Such is life in a small town.  It's rather like traveling back in time.

Edited September 22, 2017 by lindag (log)

[chromedome]

4 hours ago, lindag said:

My favorite grocery is in a small town about ten minutes south of here.  They just finished a major remodeling job with splendid results.  It's a very large store for such a small town.  The 'new' store has wider aisles because (as I heard one of the longtime checkers tell a customer) because people meet their neighbors and stop in the middle of the aisles to visit.  Such is life in a small town.  It's rather like traveling back in time.

 

To transfer that to the small town where I lived, imagine the neighbours in their pickups, blocking both lanes of the narrow local roadways. 

[kayb]

5 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

Ugh! 

The price of cream has jumped up! 

Was $1.69 per pint—now $1.99 per pint!!! 

 

Noticed that. Butter and half-and-half went up, too, but they're still significantly cheaper than Kroger.

 

Since the Masterbilt arrived yesterday, I dropped by today while I was out to see what they had in the meat realm. I walked out with a bottom round roast I plan to corn, and a sirloin tip I plan to smoke for Sunday dinner. I think that, with the Syracuse salt potatoes everyone's been raving about, and some roasted broccoli would be a quite admirable dinner.

 

Also picked up some steelhead trout I plan to brine and then smoke. I've had smoked trout and liked it; might as well try smoking my own.

 

I also ordered an assortment of six different kinds of wood chips -- mesquite, cherry, apple, hickory, alder, and I forget what else. Oh, how much fun new kitchen gadgets are!

 

Any tips from you electric smoker peeps on smoking a sirloin tip? I'm going to have to cut it in half and smoke half of it properly (medium rare) for myself and one daughter, and incinerate the other half for the other daughter and her hubby, who will tolerate no pink in their meat. Philistines that they are.

[Martin Fisher]

I noticed "Simply Natural" Golden Roasted Flax Seed on a shelf.

They're tasty—certainly more interesting than regular flax seeds.

15 ounce bag—$2.19

 

 

[caroled]

DDF,     The Aldi's near me, maybe 2 1/2 miles away, has been undergoing a remodel. Last time I went was maybe 5-6 weeks ago. Plans are to go tomorrow...hopefully they will be close to, or completely finished. I'm out of so much stuff!

[HungryChris]

I returned from a wedding in Minnesota late last night, but not too tired to notice the 79 cent per 8 oz package of button mushrooms in the flyer. I absolutely love marinated mushrooms, which seem to improve with age, so off I went this am for a 2 quart jars worth, and I'll be back!

HC