Long before there was Yelp, there was Zagat, and the restaurant survey juggernaut, now in its 33rd year, has recently published the 2012 version of its annual "America's Top Restaurants" listings, which ranks its choices for the best places to eat in 45 metropolitan areas.

Their user-rated choices for the Twin Cities' top 10 restaurants start with La Belle Vie (pictured, above), which has pretty much owned this horse race for as long as I can recall. The next nine are, in order, 112 Eatery, Vincent, Restaurant Alma, Bar La Grassa, Meritage, Lucia's Restaurant, Manny's Steakhouse, Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market and the Oceanaire Seafood Room.

The guide's "other noteworthy places" include Cosmos, Heidi's, In Season, Kincaid's, Masu, Modern Cafe, Punch Neapolitan Pizza, Saffron Restaurant & Lounge, Sea Change and Victory 44.

Agree? Disagree? Tap into your own inner Zagat surveyist and share your thoughts in the comments section, below. I'll start: Where the heck is Piccolo?

The survey chronicled the dining-out habits of 156,000 diners from coast to coast, who dined out an average of 3.1 times per week. Italian is the most popular cuisine (27 percent), followed by American (18 percent), French (12 percent), Japanese (10 percent) and Mexican (10 percent).

The average tip is 19.2 percent, up from 18 percent in 2000, and the average tab is $35.65, up from $27.58 in 2001. Respondents reported that 45 percent of their meals are purchased in restaurants, as both dine-in and takeout, down from 52 percent in 2006. When asked, "Compared to a year ago, are you eating out … ?", 19 percent said "more," 58 percent said "same" and 23 percent said "less."

Thirty-two percent said they make reservations online, and 21 percent said they follow restaurants and/or food trucks via social media.

As for how diners feel about other diners who text, e-mail, tweet or talk on their mobile phones, 63 percent said it was rude and inappropriate, 34 percent said it was OK in moderation and 2 percent said it was perfectly acceptable. When it came to diners who take photographs of their food and their companions, 11 percent said it was rude and inappropriate, 67 percent said it was OK in moderation and 18 percent said it was perfectly acceptable.