Aldi, part 2 of 3: the bad...

Happy Friday!  Today's post follows my recent chronicling of the good to be found at Aldi, with a mercifully much shorter sampling of the bad below.

In fairness, a huge swath of fair-to-middling foods are omitted because they are perfectly fine, but not worth special mention.  All the dry cereals, for example, or the 100% whole wheat "L'oven Fresh" bread (which gets extra points because it sounds like McLovin from Superbad.) [caution, funny-but-sweary link]

Anyhow, here are some of the more dubious-looking items unearthed on a recent trip.

Previous ALDI goodness/badness/ugliness found here.

When Aldi's food stylists can render the Macaroni & Beef no more appetizing than this, just remain calm and look across the aisle at the nice cheerful pineapple chunks.

The hummus makes both the good and bad lists, because although it's cheap, it's basically mashed chickpeas.  Unobjectionable on its own, but come on!  Tahini, please?

"A pork and soy protein product."  Check out the exploding Oink-ometer!  Mainly it provides an excuse to say this.* 

I bear canned potatoes no ill will, but I fail to grasp their point.  Looking at them makes me feel desperately sad and poor.  I mean, a potato costs about a nickel.   Heaven help you if you can't afford a damn potato.

* 1) Years ago, Sean and I lived below the two nice young Jewish heirs to the great Moo & Oink fortune.  We gave them a bunch of our furniture when we moved out, and they gave us a Moo & Oink clock.  Fair exchange, I think.
2) Sean was featured on the back page of the Chicago Tribune wearing a Moo & Oink T-shirt, for a story on the birth of our oldest son, which I should tell sometime.
3) Moo & Oink's classic commercials during Soul Train vie for first place with the equally jaw-dropping Scottie Pippen Mr. Submarine ad (yes, he really does dunk a sub) as a high/low point of Chicago commercial history.