Lidl — Attraction in Hampton

Lidl Hampton has an amazingly affordable produce selection with everyday staples and some surprising exotic items such as golden honeydew and ginger root. Not all of their produce is imported. Localvores: take notice of their Virginia-grown, organic live hydroponic mixed lettuces. These come in triangular plastic wrap cones. Simply add a little water so the attached hydropod root ball can drink deep, and stand upright in your refrigerator crisper. Clean and prepare as normal and be delighted by the earthy and fresh greens melange for $2 (4 fresh salad servings). These pair well with their organic heirloom cherry tomatoes, cut baby carrots and seedless cucumbers.

I want to draw your attention to this store's selection of sausages. Lidl is a German company. I am not sure where these sausages are manufactured, but German quality and ancestral sausagecraft knowledge goes into each and every link. We have tried their organic and non-organic, pork and chicken sausages in multiple flavors (andouille, jalapeno, Italian, breakfast), and my wife and I are very impressed by the quality and value. These sasuages usually have less than 10 ingredients. Try looking for that on a log of Jimmy Dean! Seriously, it reads "pork, spices, natural casing, salt, pepper, cane sugar."

Along the same lines of the sausage, check out the prepared, jarred Indian curry sauces they have on offer. For $2.39, you can pick from jugan, tikka masala, jafrezi, green curry, rogan josh, madras and several others. If you get home and want to zip together a quick, fresh and delicious Indian dinner, I would suggest putting a small pot of water to boil with a cup of Jasmine or Basamati rice (they sell 2 lb. bags of each for $1.87). Cut any protein of your choice into chunks, along with peppers and onions. Get those working in a deep pan or skillet next. Stir the rice, cover, and set to simmer. Stir the veggie and protein mix. Drain rice. Slice mushrooms and add to working stir fry. Cook 2-3 more minutes until protein is cooked and mushrooms are tender. Crack open the curry sauce of your choice and stir in. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over rice. Indian dinner done in less than 20 minutes with 6 servings for about $.75/serving. Bargain gourmet.

Lastly, Lidl offers rotating selections of home goods. Check them out sometime. We also found a $4-44 pack of disposable diapers.

Bottom line: impressive selection, fantastic prices, nice atmosphere, and little elements that keep it interesting. Just remember to bring your own bags and help yourself to bagging your own items. It just makes the whole experience more satisfying as you relish in...

Went to Lidl for the first time after getting advertisement in mail. I bought several sale items along with an entire shopping cart full of groceries. I went to check out and there was a long line and only one cashier. I went to the self checkout and started to ring up my order and none of the sale items were ringing at the correct price. I pressed the help and waited 10 minutes and no one showed up. I threw the 20 or so items back in the cart. An employee came rushing over and said I will get with you in just a few minutes. I told her it was too late and I got in the only checkout line with a cashier. After waiting another 10 minutes, I finally got to check out but none of the sale prices were ringing. I was told I needed to register for Lidl and if I had my cell phone I could do it right there at the checkout. I didn't have my cell phone and we were holding up the line. The cashier said he would use his phone but the manager told him he wasn't supposed to do that. When she walked away, he used his phone because I was about to leave without the groceries. After all that, when I got home, I was still cheated out of about $20 because some of the items that were buy one get one did not credit me for the free item.

MEATS: The fresh chicken was really good when I cooked it. That's where it ends. I bought 6 vacuum packed rib eye steaks that looked really good in the package. When I opened them, 5 of the 6 were rancid. They were slimy and smelled like a rotting dead animal. I cut meat when I was young if it smells bad and is slimy chances are you get food poisoning if you eat them. So now I am out of another $35 for bad meat. Obviously, they were not stored at the correct temperature or they were left on the floor too long when stocking the meats. Vacuum meats normally do not spoil unless the seal is broken, past the use by date, or allowed to set or be stored above 40 degrees.

This was my first trip and last trip to Lidl. Prices were not all that great and the generic brands they carry are not even up to Save-a-Lot quality. Some items were really good like produce, bakery and the chicken mentioned earlier. But everything else was throw away quality. I should have just bought a few sample items since it was my first trip. I wasted nearly $150 and will never visit Lidl again. I would not trust any store that sells spoiled products to customer and puts peoples...

Grocery shopping is something that can be a mundane task no one wants to do. For those who enjoy it, the experience is a part of the affinity for it. Lidl's bright store and colorful displays helps add to the experience of a weekly shopping trip. With other bargain grocery outlets are available, I continue to choose lidl over the competition. Some reasons why:

Line management - they do a decent job of ensuring they have enough points open to account for the number of people checking out. Lanes open and close as needed rather easily.

Store brands - shopping here will require you to switch from named brand items to their store brand. They have a comparable item for all your favorites and back them with their money back guarantee. Bring in any item that you aren't satisfied with and they will replace it with a comparable item AND refund your money. (This guarantee is also why I give it 4/5 stars. Many at the registers will offer another product for free but not offer a refund as well. They seem to not be trained properly on their own store policy. There also isn't a customer service desk so returns happen in the check out lines which can be problemstic.)

Other thoughts: you must bag your own groceries which is something that takes getting used to especially if you are buying a lot of things. The center of the store is where you can find suprised items like clothing, furniture and other home goods. Some great bargains can be found there and it's worth a...