Big Four Burger - I tried!

Lately we've been crossing the Big 4 Bridge for lunch, dinner, whatever. We've had decent bar food at Cluckers, a great meal at Comeback Inn, a good lunch at Red Yeti, dessert at Schimpffs, and appetizers one time & dinner another at Buckheads. Today we decided to try Big Four Burgers, as we were really looking forward to some exercise and a good burger.

Got there at 12:20, and were seated by one of the three wait staff (he appeared to be a manager, and we later learned he was "supposed to be training" the guy who waited on us). Our order was taken promptly, although the waiter didn't know whether the blue cheese was "real" cheese, crumbles, dressing, or what. Both my wife and I ordered off the "build-your-own" part of the menu, and were looking forward to comparing; our taste buds were full-on, as we saw great looking burgers heading to tables around us.

After 25 minutes - and two Diet Cokes each - we finally managed to flag down the guy who was "supposed to be training" for a set-up, and were able to get napkins. Another five minutes and our trainee waiter came by, verified our orders, and said they were in the kitchen and should be out any second.

Well, orders kept straggling out. I counted one table served approximately every five minutes or so.

After 40 minutes, we saw a table that had come in after we did get served. We tried to find our waiter, a manager, anyone, but had no luck.

After 45 minutes, a table of two women who had come in ten minutes earlier (they made a huge deal of ordering sweet tea, and we couldn't help but hear their conversation, so knew when they ordered) were served.

We managed to flag down the trainer, asked for a check and said we couldn't wait any more (it was lunch, and with the bridge walk we were totally out of time). At least they didn't charge us for the drinks.

We were extremely disappointed. As I said, we had seen other orders, and the food looked great. I would have told a manager and complained in person, but aside from the three servers there was no one there.

I still recommend the walk and experimenting; just try one of the other places first!

[Robin Garr]

That's really sad, Andrew. Thanks for sharing your report, though, with extra credit for your kindness in avoiding the kind of angry savagery that I might have brought home from an experience like that.

Absolute proof.

Do not cross the river. It's is full of Hoosiers, whatever that is.

That's really disappointing, Andrew. No excuse for that.
I did have a very different experience in August and wondering if they've recently had a procedural change. My son and I walked over the bridge during the week, in part to go there for lunch. Our order was taken at the front register ( no server) , then they gave us a number to place on the table to bring out our food. The sodas were self- serve next to the register. The place was pretty empty ( I think we were there around 1:30), and we seated ourselves way upstairs on one of the outside decks ( warning them in advance that we were doing so). Our burgers came out amazingly quick.

In our case, we left very impressed. Friendly staff, fast service and a great 2 story deck with partial views of the bridge. The burgers were awesome - super juicy and perfectly cooked. My son's kids meal burger was large and ( with the extra bacon we added to it) he declared it "the best burger ever! " My Bleu Cheese special burger was great too. We will definitely plan a repeat visit- sorry yours was such a poor experience.

That's really disappointing, Andrew. No excuse for that.
I did have a very different experience in August and wondering if they've recently had a procedural change. .

It appears that they did! After taking our order, our "server" went up front to key it into the register, and to get our drinks. When he went to check on the order, instead of going to the kitchen he went up-front to the register/computer.

It seems like they're half-way enroute to an upgrade to full table service, and (at least our guy) aren't sure what they're doing yet.

In one respect it makes life easier for us: we love Mussels & Burgers, and more recently discovered Game. Those two - with possibly the occasional Sidebar and Cousins and Shady Lane - means for the near future at least we won't have to worry about more burger places entering the option list!

I wonder if the owner has been too busy with other projects to keep an eye on the quality of service. WDRB reports that he opened a place called Charlie Nobels Eatery and Draft House in Sellersburg this week, and plans to open a second Big 4 Burgers at the old Southside Inn location in New Albany.

http://www.wdrb.com/story/26629982/afte ... nching-out

I've been there multiple times and had very good food and very good service. It could be because I wasn't there at peak times, but my experiences have been positive.