This week in notable food-centric links:

◊ Would you like a side table with that?: Minnesota Public Radio explores a growing trend in the Twin Cities—restaurants offering retail collaborations, from menswear to modernist furniture. 

◊ Health care and huckleberry scones: The New York Times is following the tough decisions facing small business owners—like restaurants and bakeries—with more than 50 employees once the Affordable Care Act rolls out on January 1.

◊ Hometown pride: Portland's porcine princess Naomi Pomeroy shares her love of Tortilleria y Tienda de Leon's nopales salad in Travel & Leisure's feature highlighting America's Best Places to Eat Like a Local.

◊ The future of hyper-specialized food critics: In response to Texas Monthly's appointment of a dedicated BBQ Editor, Bon Appetit shows off its sarcastic side with a cadre of hypothetical new food critic positions (with a special appearance by Portland Monthly).

◊ At least it wasn't a microbrew: A Seattle bar was plundered last week when a burglar made off with thirty bottles of booze. Adding insult (and a sticky residue) to injury, the Queen Anne-area thief locked open a beer tap causing a deluge of Modelo Especial that flooded the restaurant's basement. 

◊ Speaking of beer...: PDX's (m)alt-weekly Willamette Week does the beer-drinking public a sudsed-up solid with their 2013 Beer Guide, listing the 10 best brew releases of the past year along with the hottest bottle shops, beer bars, and breweries.