Money, not necessarily quality, was the chief criterion used for this study by Restaurants & Institutions magazine, ranking the country's 100 top-grossing independent restaurants.

No surprise, Manhattan and Vegas places were heavily represented (32 and 24 out of the top 100, respectively), with Tao Las Vegas Restaurant & Nightclub at No. 1, followed by New York City's Tavern on the Green. Still, it's interesting to see places like the Milleridge Inn in Jericho, N.Y. (No. 42, heavy on wedding banquets) and The Angus Barn in Raleigh, N.C., (No. 57, family run place founded in 1960) come in ahead of any place in the Northwest.

Three Washington restaurants made the $$$$ cut: SkyCity at the Space Needle was No. 90, with '07 sales of $11,559,900 (244,767 meals served, average dinner check of $61.66). Salty's on Alki was No. 93, (helped along by private-dining seats that brought in 21 percent of total revenues), with '07 sales of $11,421,753 (210,000 meals served, average dinner check of $50.25), and the Bellevue branch of Daniel's Broiler came in at No. 96, with '07 sales of $11,396,485 (93,430 meals served, average dinner check of $85.30).