Chow down on blue-collar fare at a yacht club where nobody has a boat

Don't look for fine dining at Mr. Beverages Midtown Yacht Club. But do expect good food and good times.

Located in Baltimore's historic Mount Vernon, the Yacht Club offers a blue-collar atmosphere for the hungry and weary. Good burgers and Buffalo wings, peanut shells, a full bar, cigarette smoking and multiple televisions define this small restaurant.

Yacht Club is moderately priced and a good place to chill, so long as you don't mind the cigarette smoke - every area in the place is open to smokers and that can make for a foggy atmosphere on a crowded night. As far as food goes, Yacht Club does the basics very well. The burgers are cooked to order, juicy and delicious. Club sandwiches are just as good - take your pick of a roast beef, ham or turkey club. Even the pizzas are fairly good - not your gourmet brick oven style but tasty nonetheless. Add to that to buckets full of free peanuts - the shells can be tossed on the floor at will - and you have some good standard fare.

Chances are, you may just come to Yacht Club to munch and if that's the case, the establishment has you covered. Appetizers abound. Some are better than others, but none will leave the hungry unsatisfied. Start with the Buffalo wings. They come in three categories of hotness, what Yacht Club calls "Three Degrees of Wings." Choose from Chicago Fire, Baltimore Fire or Buffalo Fire. The wings are meaty and come with standard bleu cheese dressing on the side. Appetizers also include Nachos Grande, chicken fingers, mozzarella stix and chips and salsa. The mozzarella stix are a bit plain but most of these starters are up to snuff.

In addition to burgers and sandwiches, Yacht Club does some Mexican cuisine. Granted, it's not a Tex-Mex place, but the dishes are still pretty good. Chicken, steak and shrimp quesadillas and fajitas are available, as well as flautas, taquitos, tacos, burritos and chimichangas.

Yacht Club also has Caesar and House salads to choose from, to which you can add shrimp or chicken.

Yacht Club also offers specials for Monday Night Football and a karaoke night every week. Monday night is 25 cent wing night. This deal, along with football makes for a very crowded, peanut shell filled, smoky atmosphere at the Yacht Club.

Yacht Club is moderately priced - nothing over $12 - so you won't bust your wallet trying to get a meal there. You'll have to go somewhere else for dessert, though. After all, it is a bar, specializing in drinks and good munchies.

As for service, it depends what day you catch the Yacht Club on. When the place is relatively empty - afternoons and nights not carrying big sports action - the service is quick and top notch. But on crowded nights, service can be dreadfully slow, so be sure you're going to hang out for a while and relax - wanting a meal on the double will not serve you well. Yacht Club also has a limited number of tables which are first come, first serve, seat yourself. So if it's crowded, you may very well find yourself standing around until a table clears, or asking someone if you can share theirs.

Service and smoke are the only real identifiable negatives to this place. If you can handle that, and you want a place that serves good food and provides and exciting but also relaxing social atmosphere, Yacht Club is a great place to try.

The Midtown Yacht Club is located at 15 E. Centre St., right across the street from the Peabody Institute.