And there was me thinking I’d gone a bit too middle class with M&S and Waitrose.

fuck sake

davyK wrote:

Is it true that Aldi and Lidl are owned by 2 brothers who fell out and split the business?

Adidas and Puma.

Kow wrote:

There's a couple of Aldis here but they're useless. You couldn't do a weeks shopping in one. They're full of weird chocolate and paprika crisps.

So are the ones here, but apparently people love that shit.

Yeah the Irish Aldi's cover all bases.

A special mention must go to the Aldi Gin. Cant remember the name but its a green bottle with a white cap. Very reasonable price and lahvly.

Probably called Gordans or something.

I think their whiskeys have won awards as well.

Lot of tories outing themselves here. Noted.

Kow wrote:

There's a couple of Aldis here but they're useless. You couldn't do a weeks shopping in one. They're full of weird chocolate and paprika crisps.

I miss those (well the Lays one, don't think I ever had the Aldi one). They have a whole aisle dedicated to crisps in most supermarkets here, but have never heard of the one flavour I actually care for.

I've spotted a couple of Aldi and Lidl signs next to the highways here, not in the area where I live though. Was surprised the first time, really should go in at some point to see if they're similar.

I do most of my shopping at Trader Joe's, which looks like the perfect organic friendly store. I can get most of the things I need there, it's across the street so easy to walk and they don't have baggers. It's fairly basic in what they have (they don't have 10 different brands of chicken thighs, all varying in how healthy they are) so no time wasted comparing things.
Second place are for Walmart (they have self scan check outs, but don't always work that great) and Pavilions (I'll have to deal with the baggers but they have the most beautiful cupcakes and muffins in display, plus rotisserie chicken). Last one is definitely posh, but it's big and has a nice selection of fresh meat and fish. I could even ask for certain cuts if I wanted to.

The baggers though, I'm really happy those people are being able to work, but they are so slow and not very good at it. It's often the only reason the next customer has to wait. You also need to be careful with what you buy, if it's something they really like you're stuck in a conversation about cookies.

Nina wrote:

Trader Joe's

Owned by Aldi it seems.

Aldi split in two when the bros couldn't agree on whether to sell cigarettes or not. It was amicable apparently - just a difference of opinion - so they split and agreed on which territorys they would cover to avoid competition. Trader Joe's is owned by one of the halves of Aldi. (North and South - so named from the parts of Germany they cover)

Lidl Potato wedges are only 59p, and also superb.  They play a weak waffle game though, and oven chips in general really (they always need an extra 6-8 minutes for a start).

Kow wrote:

I remember when I lived in Holland that paprika crisps were big. They're not bad, but a temporary itch rather than a staple.

Yeah, seems Holland is about the only country that cares about paprika crisps. Means there's at least something to look forward to if we go back.

@Davy, heh, that's kinda interesting. Trader Joe's doesn't feel like an Aldi at all, clearly a different target group. I do know that TJ sells a lot of own brand stuff, but most of that is just another general brand wrapped in different styling.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Lidl Potato wedges are only 59p, and also superb.  They play a weak waffle game though, and oven chips in general really (they always need an extra 6-8 minutes for a start).

Don't they always.

My good foot twitchin'

Tempy wrote:

A Lidl replaced a Wholefoods in Glasgow recently and people went barmy, it was great.

No it wasn't. I prefer Lidl but liked to have the option, which isn't there anymore. More specifically, WF sold Strianese tinned tomatoes.

Don't Peckhams up your way do them?