Yet another dining option has opened up for Indianola patrons. Located in the Diamond Dave’s building, Cal’s Food and Spirits offers typical American-style food.

As expected of a new restaurant, Cal’s attracts a big crowd of patrons who are eager to try out a new restaurant.

Cal’s offers a variety of entrees, ranging from well-known Italian pasta dishes to the popular hot sandwiches. The menu consists of regular appetizers such as onion rings, chicken strips, cheese sticks and hot wings. All appetizers are within a reasonable price range.

The ambience and atmosphere of the place reminds one of other existing Indianola eateries of the same kind, such as Crouse CafŽ.

Cal’s is also divided up into sections, although it is not easy to distinguish one from another. We requested to be placed in a non-smoking area of the restaurant and we couldn’t tell if the hostess misunderstood and put us in a smoking area, but it turned out that we were in the designated area for non-smokers. Due to the size of the restaurant, it takes a while for the smoke to dissipate. It floats around the entire restaurant for a quite a significant amount of time before it fades away.

As for the service, it took a while to get someone to attend to our table. When our waitress finally arrived, she took our drink orders as well as our order of hot wings we were having for an appetizer. She then finally brought the hot wings and the next time we saw her was about 15 minutes later after our glasses had been empty for quite some time.

As for taste, the hot wings were pretty good and they were served at an edible temperature. The grilled chicken sandwich I had was also not that bad. The taste was good and the bun was fresh. Also the french fries that accompanied it were of a taste indigenous to Cal’s.

Despite the smoke, the evening was progressing to be somewhat enjoyable until our waitress almost mixed-up my friends’ credit cards as she took them for charge.

The overall experience at Cal’s was not too bad. The food was nothing out-of-the ordinary and the place seemed clean and pleasant.

If you enjoy meals at the Golden Corral, Crous CafŽ and maybe even Country Kitchen, then Cal’s food and spirits is, certainly, for you. But if excellent service and remarkable taste in food plays a big part in your dining experience, then Cal’s is a place you want to avoid.