By Mona Moore

The Old Barn Restaurant in Goshen is one of the “Fiery Four.”

The restaurant owners received a plaque Thursday from Alabama Cattleman’s Association (ACA) Regional Vice President Larry Reeves, recognizing the restaurant as one of the “Fiery Four” finalists in the Alabama’s Best Steak contest.

Owners Amy and Scottie Chandler were thrilled with the recognition.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” Amy said. “It would be wonderful to win, but it is just an honor to be in the final four.”

The other three finalists are OH! Bryan’s Family Steakhouse, Tuscumbia; Bull Pen Steakhouse, Oakman; and Elmer’s Restaurant, Notasulga.

A panel of industry judges will judge this year’s final four restaurants anonymously throughout the month of September. During this portion of the contest, each finalist’s ribeye steak will be judged on overall taste, tenderness and juiciness.

The winning steakhouse will be announced at the end of September and will receive a feature story in the Alabama Cattleman magazine, a plaque with a press conference presentation, bragging rights for one year and an influx of customers looking to try Alabama’s best steak.

“This contest has certainly garnered a great deal of publicity for these restaurants, and they have reaped the benefits by welcoming new customers in to try their steaks,” ACA Director of Consumer Marketing Erin Beasley said. “The judges are ready to hit the road in the coming weeks as we move one step closer to finding our winner.”

In addition to the publicity, Amy said she has made a lot of new friends.

“It’s been a great experience,” she said. “We’ve gotten to meet so many other restaurant owners and it has been wonderful to have the Cattlemen here with us tonight.”

The 2015 contest drew in record numbers of online votes and social media participation with more than 50,000 overall votes generated. The nominating round held during the month of July hosted more than 12,000 nominations, while the “Sizzling 16” portion of the bracket challenge brought in over 15,500 votes on the contest’s website. The “Enticing 8” challenge motivated more than 25,400 online votes.

Stop by one of the four finalist restaurants and see for yourself why they made it to the top.

For more information on the contest visit www.AlabamasBestSteak.com.

The Old Barn is located at 1944 County Road 2243 in Goshen. Contact the restaurant at 334-484-3200 or email them at oldbarn12345@gmail.com.