Want to see a real college restaurant? Bill Bateman's shows us how it's done

Whether you're in it for the food, for the bar, or for the trip away from Charles Village, a visit to Bill Bateman's Bistro won't disappoint you. With a far-ranging reputation for the best wings in town, this chill Towson University-version of our own Rocky Run is always the place to be. Bateman's, as loving patrons tend to nickname it, attracts enough customers to merit a waiting list for dinner and lunch every day of the week. Unless you're there for their famed all-you-can-eat wings on Monday nights, when private school lacrosse boys from the area flock through the door in masses of upside-down and backwards Abercrombie visors, the wait shouldn't be more than an hour for a group of four. As the crowds will prove, the wait here is totally worth it because the food is good and there's lots of it.

The atmosphere is the first thing that you'll love when you walk in. As a main hub on the Towson campus, the entrance door opens right into the spacious bar area and sets a relaxed and fun ambiance. Tables for groups up to eight encircle a central game area with pool tables and arcade machines. You can tell you're in Towson territory from all the university pennants and Tigers lacrosse and basketball jerseys that adorn the walls. Plus, all the waitresses are Towson undergrads.

Besides Bateman's being a college and local prep school hangout, the food - and prices - are definitely the main attraction here. Bateman's basically can flaunt a menu as diverse and lengthy as that of the Cheesecake Factory downtown. However, just like the obvious choice there for indecisive people is to order cheesecake, the claim to fame at Bateman's is their wings. When the wall posts records of the top wing-eaters of the year, you know you're in serious wing-eating territory.

The wing menu is, frankly, gigantic, and one can order small, medium, or army-sized platters of the things. The traditional wings range from original, to atomic to buffalo garlic to "wings from hell." Then there are New York-style wings and Jerk-style, lemon pepper, Old Bay, Cajun, honey mustard and BBQ. And if none of those flavors float your boat, then one can always get to the heart of the matter and order the "nude" wings.

All the wings come with bleu cheese dip. And if you're going to eat wings like a pro, you should know that the standard side order with wings is definitely the seasoned curly fries. They come in a basket and are sinfully delicious.

However, the menu doesn't stop there. If you - gasp - are not a wing-eater type of person, there is plenty of the usual bar and grille fare to fill your stomach. Additional offerings include burgers, wraps, pasta dishes, seafood, fish, pizza, steaks, beef dishes, poultry platters and baby-back ribs. Everything has a great twist - how can you turn down a sandwich called the Hot Italian Stallion, the Monster Meatball Sub, or the Hulk Hoagie?

Even though they specialize in wings, Bateman's goes above and beyond with additional specials, offering a grilled Portobello mushroom dish, blackened salmon and mixed grill entres. If one can possibly find room for dessert after belly-busting portions, the Bistro has a Mile-High chocolate cake for the serious dessert champ. This seven-layer phenomenon of chocolate and fudge is easily shared between two, three, or even four people, so make sure the waitress brings extra forks to go around. Also, unless you're going to beat the standing wing-eating record of over 100 wings at one sitting, there are usually lots of leftovers. It's a common sight to see most patrons staggering away from their meal with a white Styrofoam take-home carton of extra wings for later.

What's great about Bateman's is that it's hopping all the time. Especially crazy times ensue when the evening picks up for Monday night football at the bar and on weekends when Towson students pack in to fill up on wings and maybe hit the bar before heading out to party for the night.

Only a half-block walk from the CollTown shuttle stop at Towon University, Bateman's is easy to reach and definitely worth the trip. Catch the shuttle - the same one that takes you to the Towson mall - behind the Mattin Center every hour on the hour on weekdays and about every two hours on weekend afternoons.

There's no excuse for not going, except that you are trying your best to miss out on a ton of fun. And don't forget to pick up the free matchbooks as you walk out the door, because if you're still wondering "Who is Bill Bateman, anyway?" these sassy little giveaways will give you your answer: "Who the hell cares."

The main deal her, as always, is the food and the fun.