MONTGOMERY – Barbecue fans can now vote to see which of two restaurants will square off against each other in a Facebook contest to be named the state’s favorite barbecue restaurant. The Final Four competing restaurants are:

Big Bob Gibson in Decatur
Jim ‘N Nick’s in Birmingham
Sam’s BBQ in Montgomery
The Shed in Mobile.

Votes can be cast by going to Facebook.com/AlabamaFood.

Alabama Tourism Department’s Brian Jones said there have been more than 50,000 votes in the contest since the original field of 32 was announced March 11 as an event during the Year of Alabama Food. “The contest is based around basketball’s March Madness,” Jones said. “We took the restaurants and divided them into four different geographic regions and matched them up into different voting brackets. Now we are down to the Final Four with the regional winners competing to see which two restaurants will go head to head against each other in the final round.”

The winner will be announced April 8, paralleling the NCAA Men’s Division 1 Basketball Championship. The winning restaurant will receive a trophy and be named “The Year of Alabama Food Ultimate Barbecue Champion.”

You can learn more about Alabama culinary destinations and events at www.yearofalabamafood.com.