For the third year in a row, Birmingham has been named one of America's top food cities by the national restaurant guide Zagat.com.

The Magic City is No. 24 on Zagat's latest list of the 30 Most Exciting Food Cities in America 2017.

Last year, Birmingham was No. 14 on Zagat's list of the 26 Hottest Food Cities of 2016.

Also, in 2015, Zagat ranked Birmingham No. 1 on its list of America's Next Hot Food Cities.

Here's what Zagat's Abigail Abesamis wrote about the Birmingham restaurant scene this year:

All eyes are on The Magic City, especially after Food & Wine Magazine relocated much of its staff to Birmingham earlier this year. It's delivering with a wave of globally focused eateries like the popular Pizitz Food Hall with stalls representing cuisines from Ethiopia, Asia, the Middle East and more, plus Fero, an Italian restaurant from lauded NYC chef Akhtar Nawab (Alta Calidad). Favorite local sushi chef Abhi Sainju opened his first solo concept, Abhi, and hip EastWest serves modern Asian fusion.

Birmingham continues its legacy of Southern cooking and fine dining establishments like chef Frank Stitt's Highlands Bar and Grill (James Beard finalist) with top-notch farm-to-table concepts like Roots & Revelry from chef Brandon Cain (Saw's Soul Kitchen, Post Office Pies) and Root to Tail from chef and Food Network host Ben Vaughn.

On the sweets front, Big Spoon Creamery, a small-batch ice cream concept from two Bottega vets, opened a storefront, and hit pop-up Hero Doughnuts found a permanent home in Homewood.

Other Southern cities on Zagat's 2017 list include Asheville, N.C. (30); Lexington, Ky. (26); Richmond, Va. (25); Nashville (20); Miami (19); Dallas/Fort Worth (16); Houston (13); Raleigh, N.C. (12); Atlanta (9); New Orleans (8); Charleston, S.C. (7); and Austin, Texas (2).

Los Angeles is No. 1 on the list.

To see the complete list of the 30 Most Exciting Food Cities in America 2017, go here.