Innovo Kitchen - Brunch

If you've ever gone out to brunch, you know the sky's the limit and you can really set yourself back a pretty penny.

I've been trying to get out more and socialize when I don't have the kiddo. That might sound kind of lame to some people, but I've been trying to socialize since I first moved to Albany 356 years ago, so now that I've got some solid friends and continue to add more to the pile, it's less "Find cool people to hang out with, oh god why don't I have any friends???" and more "Man, I know so many cool people. I gotta try and hang out with them."

Where were we? Right. Brunch. Some of my friends like going out for brunch on the weekends. It's nice. I can't do it all of the time because single mom budget, but still.

I've also been kind of meh about my random weekly meals. Brunch and lunch out is a nice way to try something a little different, and maybe use it for inspiration for the week. Nine times out of ten I wind up thinking of how many steps and dishes it would take, but sometimes I get a inspiration on how to incorporate something into every day life.

I recently went out to Innovo Kitchen in Latham and got the Power 4 salad ($8), which is red kale, watercress, arugala, spinach, golden raisins, roasted grapes, and toasty pistachios tossed in caesar vinaigrette. 

I wasn't sure what roasted grapes meant, but they were lightly roasted and then chilled before being tossed with the salad, so they still had a bunch of texture and weren't just big squishy gobs of sad grapes (which was what I was mentally preparing myself for). They added a nice contrast to all of the greenery. Also adding textural contrast were the crunchy pistachios - nicely minced and easy to get a tiny bit of pistachio in every bite. 
Great conservative amount of dressing to keep it all together and add flavor but not overwhelm. 

My coffee consumption is now at comical records, so of course I had to get a cup of coffee ($3.75), which comes in a French press. I'm not a huge French press fan, but everyone else is a fan of me drinking coffee before noon and becoming less of an exhausted gremlin.

Service is polite and friendly. Open kitchen in the back you can see. Gets busy around noon for brunch, but they're open at 10 am, so if you go before there's no wait. 

http://www.innovokitchen.com/

Innovo Kitchen
1214 Troy Schenectady Road
Latham, NY 12110
518-608-1466