Best Potluck Ideas: Twin Cities

Voted one of the best bistros year after year, Lucia's also has an excellent and affordable to-go menu filled with locally sourced fare like Arugula pear salads, fresh croissants, chocolate eclairs, jams, breads and more.

This little family-run Italian eatery in Southwest Minneapolis does it up in style: family-size pastas like lasagna and meatballs make for a perfect sampler; deli salads like fusilli rosticiada can be purchased by the pound; imported cheeses and deli meats make for a great snack; and the desserts--like the famous cannoli--are always a hit.

This wine shop in Northeast is also tops for its selection of meats, artisan cheeses, deli salads, specialty sandwiches and desserts. Grab a nice bottle of bubbly, a wheel of brie, a baguette, a green papaya salad or a French chocolate cake, and you'll be the hit of the party.

Along with offering all of its dishes to go--like breads, pita chips, samosas, stuffed grape leaves, rotisserie chickens, and more--Holy Land sells its delicious homemade hummus in all sorts of flavors and its fresh-baked pita and naan at great prices.

The dishes at this South Minneapolis Nepalese restaurant are large (and cheap!), and offer a great oppotunity for sharing. A tandoori dish, like the chicken cholya, is perfectly accompanied by any of the takari (vegan) dishes on offer. Bring it to a party, and everyone can sample the unique cooking and to-do-for spices.

Going to a potluck where anything goes? Pick up 10 or so homemade tamales from La Loma, where tamales come in flavors as lip-smacking and diverse as pineapple, veggie, pork, chicken and raisin. Each tamale is only $2.25 apiece, and makes for the perfect accompaniment at any potluck.