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ALDI Dinner in Washington, D.C.

May 13, 2017 by Julie 15 Comments

I had the pleasure of attending an ALDI-inspired restaurant event at Mintwood Place a little over a week ago and today’s blog post is a recap of my experience. Thank you to ALDI for the amazing dinner and for sponsoring this post!

On the last day of April this year, I had the exciting opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. for a special dinner event with ALDI. I received an invitation in my email inbox after I recently highlighted my return to ALDI on the blog and mentioned how impressed I was with the store’s affordable organic produce. I shopped at ALDI on occasion when we lived in Ocala but I hadn’t popped in since we moved to North Carolina until a conversation about reducing our monthly food budgets came up as I was chatting with my girlfriends.

aldi flatbread

After my friend Jess raved about the affordability of the organic items at ALDI, Ryan and I made it a point to pop in after church one day since the church we attend is quite close. I instantly texted Jess and my other girlfriends after we left the store and thanked her for her recommendation because our local ALDI recently got a makeover and also features a LOT more organic and natural products than I remembered from my last visit about three years ago. The organic produce at my local ALDI is honestly cheaper than the conventional produce at many of our local grocery stores, which absolutely blew me away. Instant fan!

When the ALDI team invited me to fly out to Washington, D.C., I couldn’t wait to experience a delicious meal in a vibrant city. (I also had my fingers crossed hoping I might still be able to see the gorgeous cherry blossoms, but we just missed them.) I flew to Washington, D.C. from Savannah after our girls’ weekend and arrived in the mid-afternoon. With only about an hour of free time to spare, I wanted to take full advantage of my quick visit and headed out for a run around the National Mall. I knew I had to run if I wanted to see everything, so it was the perfect motivation to work up a sweat and snap some pictures along the way.

Washington Monument

After a quick shower back at my hotel room, I met up with my new blogging friend, Terri, and we made our way to the dinner at Mintwood Place. The restaurant was bright and beautiful and served as the perfect space for such a fun and delicious event.

Mintwood Place

We had the chance to meet the chef and sommelier the knowledge they shared with us about food and wine was incredibly interesting. (I feel like I kind of geek out whenever I get to meet a sommelier after watching the documentary SOMM on Netflix, which gave me a new appreciation for the profession.)

Blogger Group

Our evening began with a variety of appetizers and my favorite dish was, without a doubt, the deviled pickled eggs made with SimplyNature Organic Cage-Free Eggs. When I was growing up, I remember my dad’s mother making pickled eggs and beets for our family whenever we’d come to visit because my dad and I loved them so much. It’s not a recipe I make very often, so biting into the vinegary yet slightly sweet and tangy deviled egg felt like a blast from the past!

pickled deviled eggs

deviled pickled eggs

As we snacked on appetizers, I chatted with the other bloggers at the event and was especially excited to be reunited with one of my favorite blogging buddies, Anne!

Fannetastic Food Anne

We grabbed seats next to each other at the bar for the wine and cheese pairing portion of the evening and had a blast catching up!

Wine Tasting ALDI Wines

My favorite combination from the tasting was the first pairing of a sweet Riesling wine with a mild and creamy Happy Farms Preferred Goat Cheese that I topped with orange marmalade. It was an incredibly refreshing combination for a warm spring evening and when I looked at the price of the wine I loved so much, I realized I’m quite the cheap date! (The Landshut Riesling is only $4.99 at ALDI and the comparable name brand is $8.76 at other retailers.)

Wine and Cheese Pairings ALDI

The two additional cheeses, Happy Farms Preferred Brie Cheese and Specially Selected Aged Reserved White Cheddar, were both fantastic as well. I loved the buttery flavor of the brie (especially with a drizzle of honey) and the white cheddar was sharp and delicious on its own but I think it would be fantastic in a homemade grilled cheese made with avocado and bacon. Yum!

Shortly after our wine tasting, we were seated at a long table for dinner and made our way through six indulgent courses of flavorful and seasonal ALDI favorites paired with a variety of ALDI wines.

Flowers with Burlap Looking Name Plate

The courses included an assortment of French onion soup and Caesar salad, crispy duck fat roasted potatoes, Never Any! tender hormone-free chicken, fresh Atlantic crispy skin salmon from ALDI, bacon-roasted Brussels spouts and pasta with Bolognese sauce made with ALDI organic grass-fed ground beef.

French Onion Soup ALDI

grass fed beef bolognese

While we ate our meal, I had the chance to ask some of the ALDI team members a few questions. One thing I’ve been curious about ever since I compared the prices of their organic items to other grocers’ organic produce is how ALDI can get their prices so much lower. It seems to me that lowering the prices of organic foods would be a wonderful way for all grocery stores to attract customers especially since high-priced organic produce often scares people away from purchasing organic fare. It sounds like the low prices on organic items all boils down to the way ALDI stores are run. ALDI doesn’t have bags (you bag your groceries yourself using your own bag), items are not unboxed once they arrive at the store, they limit their products to weekly staples and carry a lot of ALDI-exclusive brands (90 percent!), etc. All of this translates to lower prices on all products, including organics. Interesting, right!?

Our meal concluded with cold and creamy coffee ice cream paired with a rich chocolate stout cake dusted with powdered sugar.

Chocolate Cake with Ice Cream

Our evening concluded with goodbyes to my fellow blogging friends and the ALDI team before I headed back to the hotel where I was staying with Terri and Kate. When Kate suggested hanging out for a bit longer, Terri and I were game and the three of us ended up talking away until 1 a.m. when we finally said goodnight and goodbye. Loved them!

I was up less than five hours later to catch an early flight back home to Charlotte and left feeling grateful for being included in such a fun event. It’s rare for me to be able to spend time with other bloggers in person these days and I am so glad I had the chance to meet some new blog friends and reunite with Anne over one heck of a tasty dinner! Thanks so much to ALDI for such a memorable experience! You can find an ALDI near you by using their store locator here!

***

Note: Prices mentioned in this post are based on an average of prices for brand name products sold at leading national competitors in the area where ALDI has stores during the period 4/2/17-4/7/17. Savings at individual stores may vary.

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Filed Under: Dinner, Travel Tagged With: ALDI, dinner, travel, Washington DC

About Julie

My name is Julie and I am a full-time blogger, new mama, fitness enthusiast (certified personal trainer and group exercise instructor) and food fanatic (mostly healthy... but also not-so-healthy) living in North Carolina with my husband, dog and baby boy. Thank you for visiting Peanut Butter Fingers! I hope you enjoy little glimpses into my life and have fun trying the sweaty workouts I frequently share and making some of my favorite recipes along the way!

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Comments

  1. Erica @ Whimsical September says

    May 13, 2017 at 4:37 pm

    Hey Julie! As a blogger, I think it’s neat that you shared how you were invited to such an event. That “behind the scenes” is cool to hear about! I love love love Aldi. I first went about a year ago, and now I got 2-3 times a month. I absolutely LOVE it for buying my young girls snacks, and we think their cheese selection is THE BEST! I’m also totally addicted to their bottled flavored water. I’ve turned so many people into raving fans because I’m always carrying one with me. 🙂 Anyway! Long comment! Totally share in the ALDI love though. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Abby says

    May 13, 2017 at 4:57 pm

    AH!!! Mintwood Place is across the street from my apartment!!! It is by far our favorite restaurant in dc and always worth spending a little extra money than usual.

    Reply
    • Julie says

      May 14, 2017 at 6:49 am

      No way! So cool! The restaurant was beautiful and the food was SO good!

      Reply
      • Abby says

        May 16, 2017 at 4:06 pm

        It’s such a great place! One of DC’s gems. If you’re ever back here, feel free to reach out! Even though I’m just a random blog commenter. 🙂

        Reply
  3. Rachel says

    May 13, 2017 at 5:08 pm

    Sounds like an awesome trip! I was also impressed the last time I was in an Aldi!

    Reply
  4. Juliette | Namastay Traveling says

    May 13, 2017 at 5:12 pm

    My home city! Glad you enjoyed your time in DC. I highly suggest your next trip out you make the trek to Old Town Alexandria, it’s so adorable and perfect for families 🙂

    Reply
  5. Emily @ Pizza & Pull-ups says

    May 13, 2017 at 5:26 pm

    I wish we had Aldi here, they have such good prices! Looks like a fun event. Happy Mother’s Day!

    Reply
  6. Anne @ fANNEtastic food says

    May 13, 2017 at 5:47 pm

    Yay! It was so great to see you again and catch up over dinner! Come back and visit again soon! Xoxo

    Reply
    • Julie says

      May 14, 2017 at 6:59 am

      Loved seeing you, too!!!

      Reply
  7. Kim from MN says

    May 14, 2017 at 9:40 pm

    Well heyyyyyyyy!!! Hi!! I wasn’t expecting a post before Monday so this was an awesome surprise! And as a side note, I love Aldi’s and have been going there for years, and I’m so happy that it’s becoming more and more popular! When my husband wasn’t working, it was a Godsend, but I went there before that and still go now, because it’s just so great! (One of our favorite things to do is go to the middle section of an Aldi’s store where they have all those seasonal and random products. In the past, I’ve purchased a digital frame there, a ladder, a water backpack for hiking (I forget what those are called), and just last week I purchased some playground balls. And I’ve purchased exercise equipment there too!) Also, they have the BEST cinnamon raisin bagels. Better than any other brand in any other store. And all their breads – so affordable and so yummy!

    I love this post and this Aldi’s event! And I also love hearing about your dinner and the different pairings. Like the brie and the honey etc. (Plus I LOVED SOMM on Netflix TOO! So I too am wowed when I meet an actual Sommelier! Mad respect, mad respect!)

    I’m so excited that you got to hook up with other bloggers in person again – always fun to read about. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! I hope you’re having a really great weekend. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Heather says

    May 14, 2017 at 11:54 pm

    I am so curious about their baby line, Little Journey. It sounds like your trip was pretty much about the organic food, so guessing they didn’t touch on that. However I may give their diapers a shot….Aldi has impressed me with everything else!

    Reply
  9. Audrey says

    May 15, 2017 at 9:47 am

    Your dinner at ALDI looks so fun! I love deviled eggs, but I’ve never tried deviled pickled eggs… they look amazing!

    https://jonandaudadventure.wordpress.com/

    Reply
  10. Jan says

    May 15, 2017 at 11:22 am

    I love Aldi, what a neat event!

    Reply
  11. Kaitlyn @ Powered by Sass says

    May 16, 2017 at 7:57 am

    This looks incredible, and I’m super excited that it’s right around the corner from me! I live in DC. Definitely going on my radar.

    http://www.poweredbysass.com

    Reply
  12. Kathleen says

    May 17, 2017 at 8:05 pm

    It’s fantastic to hear that other healthy bloggers are loving on Aldi too! My parents have shopped at Aldi for years so when I went away for college I made sure to find one close (what college student can afford normal grocery store prices??), and now that I’m back in my hometown, my husband and I are frequent shoppers of the same Aldi my parents go to 🙂 I LOVE their wine, we’re partial to the Winking Owl brand and actually haven’t tried any others! Do you have any sort of recommendations to what is worth buying organic? I don’t typically buy organic produce and never have, so I was wondering which ones you feel are the most important?

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Julie and I am a mom to three energetic boys and a personal trainer and blogger living in Charlotte, North Carolina. Welcome to my blog! Peanut Butter Fingers follows my life and my interests in food, fitness, family, travel and (mostly) healthy living.
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