MONTGOMERY-  Jim ‘N Nick’s in Birmingham beat Big Bob Gibson’s in Decatur by a vote of 7,171 to 6,981 and Sam’s BBQ in Montgomery beat The Shed in Mobile by a vote of 2,393 to 1,815 in the Final Four round of the BBQ Bracket Facebook contest.  Now Jim ‘N Nick’s and Sam’s BBQ will battle it out in the championship round to see which one will be named the state’s favorite barbecue restaurant.  Votes can be cast by going to Facebook.com/AlabamaFood.

Alabama Tourism Department’s Brian Jones said there have been more than 75,000 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 different four geographic regions and matched them up into different voting brackets. We had some really tight voting and now we are down to the final round with the two remaining regional winners Jim ‘N Nick’s and Sam’s BBQ facing off for the championship.”

The winner will be announced Monday, paralleling the NCAA Men’s Division 1 Basketball Championship. The winning restaurant will receive a trophy and be named “The Alabama BBQ Bracket Fan Favorite.”

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