If you read my most recent post, you know that I have a little bit of time on my hands. On Tuesday, with an afternoon and evening wide open, I decided to investigate a new grocery store chain I’d heard of: Aldi’s. It was billed as kind of like Trader Joe’s only cheaper and not as well organized.

The closest Aldi’s to my address in Washington Heights is 5532 Broadway, the Bronx. Thanks to my favorite NYC transit app, moovit, the Bx7 bus turned out to be the most efficient way to get there. I boarded and watched the scenery go by. After crossing the river into the Bronx, there were not many passengers remaining. I asked the driver if he knew were Aldi’s was. He did, and advised me which stop I’d want. Good thing. It’s tucked into a multi-level mall with Century 21, etc. It didn’t have its own storefront.

A young woman with long dark hair and Harry Potter glasses was seated near me. “Are you looking for anything in particular?”

“I heard that they’re like Trader Joe’s, so I wanted to check them out. I love Trader Joe’s for its prices and quality.”

“You might want to also try Garden Gourmet Market which is a little further up Broadway. They have lots of organic vegetables.”

“Oh, great!” I replied. “Would you know if there any good vegetarian restaurants up here you could also recommend?”

With that, the gentleman across the aisle piped in, “There’s Novelty Nachos on 231st. Not much to look at. You could walk right by it and not even notice, but the food there is great.”

Then the bus driver (!) added, “Another place you might want to try is…” I can’t actually remember what place he mentioned. I was too caught up in having a total New York moment and loving the small community that had just formed on my bus ride.

Reviews – Aldi’s – meh; Gourmet Garden – will definitely go there again; Novelty Nacho – didn’t make it there, but their website is inviting and I’ll definitely go there.