Reader Query: What and Where is Aldi?

Patch rarely sends readers out of town, but we try hard to answer your questions. A reader wrote:  "I'm hearing about a new store called Aldi. Is it in South Orange? What's all the hype about?" Your local editor, an experienced grocery shopper, took a field trip to find out more.

The nearest and, with three months, one day in business, the newest Aldi is located at 1020 Commerce Ave., in Union, about 3 miles from South Orange. Aldi is a grocery store packed with "house" or private label Aldi brands. And that's just one difference between this and regular grocery shopping.

Start with a quarter, which goes into a slot on the shopping card. You'll get it back at the end when you return the cart to its spot, a familiar system for many former Brooklynites.

Bring your own bags with you; if you forget, either grab a box near the checkout or buy a paper bag for .6 each.

And bring cash or a debit card, as Aldi doesn't accept credit cards or checks.

The 1400 items that fill the store aren't necessarily shelved, but stacked on pallets. While there are name brands, there aren't a lot of options. There's one brand and size of flour, for example, and the same goes for sugar. Most fruit is pre-packaged. You can buy a bag of bananas for example, but not a single banana. (For larger fruits, such as mangoes and melons, one is an option.)

So what's the appeal? Aldi describes itself as a "discount" grocery store, and that's the draw. Prices are attractive to many shoppers. (A few sample items and listed and priced below.)

At the same time, it's not all basics. Aldi is based in Germany, and many of the cookies and candy options are luscious chocolate and marzipan imports. I was delighted to find Speculaas cookies, traditional in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. The spicy, thin cookies, sometimes shaped as windmills, are my grandmother's favorite -- and very labor intensive to make.

We have a wealth of food options in and around South Orange. Wilkommen to Aldi, another nearby choice!

A few sample items and prices from 9/9/2011:

cantaloupe, 1.29

chocolate chips, 1.69

grapes, red or green, 2-lb package, 1.98

bananas, .39/lb

butter, 2.79/lb

milk, 1 gallon, all types, 3.29

chocolate butter cookies, 1.49, various types