NEW AMERICAN/ CALIFORNIA CUISINE WITH A HINT OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

The opening of our restaurant in April, 2003 was the fulfillment of a lifetime dream of owner, Gonul Blum.  Raised in Turkey, a country with a rich heritage of fine cuisine based on preparing everything fresh and using the exotic spices of her region, Gonul was exposed to great cooking from an early age.  Her family is in the spice business and those spices (famous Maras pepper and wonderful fresh saffron) are used liberally in our food.  Gonul came to the United States and was a cardiac surgery nurse for 12 years at Mercy General Hospital before an injury ended that career.  That gave her the opportunity to return to her first love.  After a number of classes at Napa's Culinary Institute of America, she started catering.  As that business thrived, the next logical step was the opening of Gonul's J Street Cafe.

Our emphasis is on using the freshest products available.  Gonul has a large garden and grows many of the herbs used in the restaurant.  During the growing season, many vegetables are also grown in her garden that find their way to your table.  When possible, organic produce is used and canned food is shunned in our kitchens. Our fish is delivered fresh three times a week from San Francisco.  Our meats are of the highest quality and in many cases are organic.  Our chicken is free range.  We believe that hand preparation (avoiding food processors when possible) helps retain taste, aroma, and nutritional value.  In addition to our wonderful food, we offer you a wonderful selection of wines that fit our cuisine from the various wine regions of California, France, Italy, Argentina, and Australia .  Owner, Mitch Blum, is a Grand Knight of the Order of the Knights of the Vine and has tried to match a very affordable selection of wines (over 90 labels) to our menu.

Your will find our cuisine to be very compatible with the Dr. Atkins and  the Zone diets.

The restaurant offers a pleasant atmosphere to enjoy your meal.  From the wonderful aromas coming from our brick oven, to the simple, but elegant decor, to the opportunity to people watch at our out door cafe, you will experience the best restaurant in East Sacramento.

We are located at 3839 J Street in Sacramento, California.  Call us at 916-457-1155 or email us at gonulscafe@aol.com