I am in love with a Detroit Grocery Store: Aldi. http://www.aldifoods.com/

Well it is actually an international grocery store chain; however, two locations exist in Detroit proper and many in the Metro area. I would be so bold as to say that Aldi changed my life in actually making eating well a financial possibility. It is hard enough to make ends meet and food isn’t something that you can easily cut down on – I tried.

I usually frequent the Aldi at Mack and Alter – their staff is the most fun and friendly – or the one in Highland Park. The food at Aldi is delicious, includes some hard to find imports, the stores are clean, food is cheap, and Aldi offers a no-nonsense shopping experience. There are very few shelving units and not too many choices. Most of the food is stored in their original shipping containers. This makes getting in and out of the store with all you need about the same time as it would take to cross a parking lot at a superstore. It is environmentally conscious in that you may use empty containers to carry your food out, they charge for paper and plastic bags so you are more likely to bring your reusable bags with you to the grocery store.

I really hope that they open one in downtown Detroit very soon.

The Wonder That Is Zaccaro’s!

I drove on over to the new Zaccaro’s Market on Friday – only to be super embarrassed when I learned that the store, on Watson and Woodward, is less than two blocks from my office, but oh well.

It was so worth the drive. While I still think it’s wacky that the addition of a mere grocery store can drive the Detroit blogosphere into a frenzy, we latch on to what we can get in this fair city.

I ordered my sandwich (very good), strolled around the store (very cute) and checked out some of the merchandise (very nice). This still isn’t the kind of place where I’ll be able to do my weekly (ok, monthly) grocery extravaganza but it’s going to be the place where I run in on the way home and grab something for dinner.

Zaccaro’s has staples like pasta, sauces, dairy, fruit and veggies and then some of the kitschy items that you’d want to find in an upscale grocery store. A coffee bar, some bistro tables, and what looks like it will become a wine room in the rear of the store. And the best part? It’s all pretty reasonable. My fear was that it was going to be a commodity in the area and charge $4 for a box of noodles or something, but I was pleasantly surprised. Of course my favorite item was little single use packets of spices, which will cut down on my buying a bathtub of cumin when I really need a teaspoon, but that’s just me.

I’m definitley going to be a regular at this place. I think I’ll even walk next time.