Vote! Best Bay Area barbecue? It's down to these Amazing Eight

San Jose's The Art of Barbecue was among the most nominated barbecue restaurants. (David Montes)
A hot link bacon sandwich from Smoked Out BBQ, which has a food truck and a brick and mortar in Santa Clara, was served at San Jose's Baconland. (Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group)
Sam’s Bar-B-Que in Bascom Avenue. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Sam Carlino Jr. helps out behind the counter at Sam’s Bar-B-Que, the Bascom Avenue eatery he opened with his father in 1992. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Carmen and Family Barbecue in Fremont was founded by one of the Everett & Jones originals. (Geoffrey Glibas)
St. Louis style pork ribs are photographed during lunch service at Slow Hand BBQ on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018, in Martinez, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Sticky Business BBQ is based in Napa but holds. pops up at Oakland's United Beerworks and Bruehol Brewing in Benicia. (Photo: Alesha Romero)
Lamont Patton, from Everett & Jones Barbeque cooks up a free feast at the “BBQ-ing while Black” event at Lake Merritt off Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Hundreds in the African American community came out to Lake Merritt in response to a confrontation caught on video there a few weeks ago when someone complained to police about a group of black people barbecuing. (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)
Jaime Ochoa seasons a beef brisket at Bonehead's Texas BBQ restaurant on Mt. Diablo Boulevard in Lafayette, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. Bonehead's opened in the former location of Bo's Barbecue, which closed at the end of July 2015 after nearly 16 years in business. Owner Dave Roberson is a Texas native. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Phat Matt's BBQ, Oakland, brisket. Photo: Paul Brown
Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group
Menu items are photographed during lunch service at Slow Hand BBQ on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018, in Martinez, Calif. The platter includes salt brined and smoked chicken, St. Louis style pork ribs, quarter pound beef brisket, with sides of German potato salad, coleslaw, BBQ beans, and mac & cheese. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
A combo plate featuring baby back pork ribs, brisket and various sides is seen at Bonehead's Texas BBQ restaurant on Mt. Diablo Boulevard in Lafayette, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. Bonehead's opened in the former location of Bo's Barbecue, which closed at the end of July 2015 after nearly 16 years in business. Owner Dave Roberson is a Texas native. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
EMERYVILLE, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 7: Cashier Raemanh Hendersot, right, attends a client at Pig in a Pickle BBQ in Emeryville, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
EMERYVILLE, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 7: Pit master and meat cutter Abdul Karim, right, works on an order of brisket for clients Burt Vera Cruz, left, and his wife Moon Vera Cruz, of Oakland, at Pig in a Pickle BBQ in Emeryville, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
EMERYVILLE, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 7: Cashier and meat cutter Raemanh Henderson delivers an order to a customer at Pig in a Pickle BBQ in Emeryville, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Sauced BBQ & Spirits is open for business in the former Pyramid Brewing location in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (Kristopher Skinner/Bay Area News Group)
The Carolina Pulled Pork sandwich is photographed at Sauced BBQ and Spirits on Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in Livermore, Calif. The sandwich is served with a vinegar based mop sauce, and is photographed with a side of cider apple slaw and Brunswick stew. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
A meat combo plate awaits a diner at Sauced BBQ & Spirits in Walnut Creek. There are locations in Petaluma, Sacramento and Livermore, where the original opened in 2012. (Kristopher Skinner/Bay Area News Group)
Chicken, ribs, and other meats are smoked in the kitchen at Sauced BBQ & Spirits in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (Kristopher Skinner/Bay Area News Group)

By Jessica Yadegaran | jyadegaran@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group

PUBLISHED: September 4, 2019 at 6:00 a.m. | UPDATED: September 6, 2019 at 4:04 p.m.

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Wow, just wow, barbecue fanatics. Last month, we asked readers to nominate their favorite Bay Area barbecue joints — and you delivered with 32 nominations from Morgan Hill to Marin. Now we’re pitting those spots against each other in a bracket-style contest. Last week, you whittled those 32 down to 16 saucy establishments.

And over the long Labor Day weekend, you voted again, slashing those savory 16 down to eight amazing bastions of barbecue. Thousands of votes later, here we are, with San Jose’s The Art of BBQ besting Pleasant Hill’s Slow Hand BBQ by 300 votes, and Santa Clara’s Smoked Out BBQ winning against Oakland favorite, Phat Matt’s BBQ, with 62 percent of the votes.

There was one big upset: Morgan Hill’s Smoke Trap trampled Oakland’s beloved Everett and Jones BBQ, 78 percent to 22 percent.

So, what now? Cast your votes, barbecue fans! Weigh in on the brackets from now until noon Friday, Sept. 6. Be sure to click the “done” button when you’re finished to submit your votes. We’ll unveil the Final Four on Monday, Sept. 9, when this voting link goes live.