Alabama Barbecue Bracket narrows field to the Elite 8 in quest to find the state's best 'cue

 BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The Alabama Barbecue Bracket is down to the Elite Eight, and voting continues into Saturday to see which of those eight will make the Final Four.

On March 11, the Alabama Tourism Department unveiled its field of 32 of the state’s top barbecue joints, which were broken down into four regions of eight restaurants each.

After two rounds of voting on the Year of Alabama Food Facebook page, the tourism announced the finalists in each of those four regions on Wednesday.

Here are those pairings:

North Region: Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, Decatur (No. 1 seed) vs. LawLers Barbecue, Athens (No. 3 seed).

Central Region: Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q, Birmingham (1) vs. Dreamland Bar-B-Que, Tuscaloosa (3).

South Region: Lannie’s Bar-B-Q Spot, Selma (4) vs. Sam’s Bar-B-Q, Montgomery (6).

Gulf Region: The Shed Barbeque & Blues Joint, Mobile (2) vs. L.A. Barbeque, Summerdale (4).

To vote, go to www.facebook.com/AlabamaFood.

Two of the No. 1 seeds were eliminated in the Sweet 16, with Lannie’s ousting Mike & Ed’s BBQ of Auburn in the South and L.A. Barbeque taking down The Brick Pit of Mobile in the Gulf.

More than 40,000 votes have been cast in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament-style contest, according to Brian Jones of the Alabama Tourism Department.

All of the first- and second-round results are available on the Year of Alabama Food Facebook page.

The original field was selected by Facebook users, and the restaurants were seeded and paired based on a social media poll conducted on behalf of the Year of Alabama Food, according to the tourism department.

“The contest is based around basketball’s March Madness,” Jones said in a press release. “We started by asking our Year of Alabama Food Facebook page fans to name their favorite barbecue restaurant. Then we took the 32 most suggested restaurants and divided them into four different geographic regions and matched them up into different voting brackets.

“Barbecue is definitely a passion in Alabama and this has really brought out the regional and local rivalries,” Jones added.

Final Four voting will take place April 1 through April 5, and the overall champion will be announced on Monday, April 8, the same day of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.

What do you think of the Alabama Barbecue Bracket voting so far? Which of your favorites do you think should or will win? Which ones were eliminated that should still be alive? Share your thoughts in our Comments section below.

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