Tao Restaurant and Nightclub in Las Vegas was the top-grossing independent U.S. eatery in 2008 for the third year in a row, even as the subprime-mortgage meltdown and financial crises battered casino operators, according to a food-industry publication.

Sales growth has slowed or fallen at many establishments across the U.S. -- Tao’s New York branch fell 9 percent last year -- according to the list of “Top 100 Independent Restaurants,” released today by Restaurants & Institutions. The top 100 amassed $1.52 billion in food-and-beverage sales in 2008, down from $1.53 billion in 2007, the publication reported.

Tao had $68.4 million in 2008 sales, up 2.6 percent from $66.6 million in 2007. Sales at Tao in Manhattan fell 9 percent to 24.4 million.

“A lot of the corporate budgets were pulled back,” said Paul Goldstein, general manager at Tao in New York, who also noted 40 percent falloff in banquet business during the holiday season while adding that the general restaurant is “kicking on all cylinders.”

New York, hit hard by layoffs in the financial industry and cuts in corporate expense accounts, is still the top-grossing restaurant market in the U.S., Restaurants & Institutions said, though the city’s top earner, Tavern on the Green, saw its revenues fall 9.1 percent to $34.2 million. Las Vegas retained its position as the second-largest market.

Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, which runs Shake Shack and other concessions at the Citi Field baseball stadium, disappeared from the top 100 list; last year The Modern, Meyer’s fine-dining establishment at the Museum of Modern Art, ranked 99 with $11.3 million in sales.

Some high-end operators continued to thrive. Sales at Mario Batali and Lydia Bastianich’s Del Posto in New York rose 19 percent to $14 million. The Italian venue had a check average of $125; the list’s fifth-highest, up from the eatery’s $100 average a year earlier, according to R&I.