Taste of Sacramento: J Street offers East Sacramento a tasty array of world flavors

A taste of India arrived in East Sacramento on July 23, with the pandemic in full swing.

Junoon — Flavors of India is the new restaurant at 3672 J Street, a spot previously occupied by Cielito Lindo Mexican Gastronomy.

“We signed the lease on March sixth,” said owner Roy Singh.

It was just a couple of weeks before the statewide stay-at-home order from Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Singh was born and raised in India. “I experienced the Indian cuisine the way it should be cooked,” he said.

Junoon specializes in the cuisine from North India. The menu includes a variety of curries, naan breads and tandoori dishes. A tandoori is an Indian clay oven. It’s shaped like a barrel, with charcoal (or a gas burner) at the bottom. Meats, fish and vegetables are lowered into the tandoori on skewers to cook.

A popular menu item is the chicken tikka masala (boneless chicken breast cutlets in an aromatic, creamy sauce). Another favorite is a vegetarian dish, the paneer shahi korma, made with paneer (cottage cheese), cardamom and fenugreek in a creamy tomato sauce. Both dishes are served with aged, fragrant saffron Basmati rice.

The menu includes a couple of South Indian items, like the Dakshin Prawn Curry ($16), a spicy coconut prawn curry with coriander, chilies and turmeric.

Junoon also offers some street food-style items. One example is the Jaipuria Lamb Masala, tender lamb in a minced lamb, garlic, onion and tomato curry.

“The response has been really good, people like our food,” said Singh.

La Trattoria Bohemia

The 3600 block of J St is also home to La Trattoria Bohemia, which offers both Czech and Italian cuisine.

“I’m from Czech Republic, so I wanted to bring Czech food to Sacramento,” said owner Mark Lastuvka. He didn’t know how people would react, though, so he came up with a contingency plan.

“In case it didn’t go well, at least I could sell the pizza,” he said.

Lastuvka worked for years at an Italian restaurant and he knew how to make pizzas, pastas and salads.

For the Czech recipes, he called his mom for help.

“I said, ‘Mom. Ok. You remember you used to make this? How did you make it?’ And she would tell me,” he said.

Czech food is basically comfort food, Lastuvka said, and it has a heavy German influence.

Beef goulash is a classic Czech dish, made with chunks of tender stewed meat in dark onion gravy. The beef goulash at La Trattoria Bohemia is $21.75 and comes with red cabbage, green beans and dumplings.

Occasionally, the menu fuses the two culinary traditions. On the Czech side of the menu is the chicken paprikash, made with chicken thighs in cream sauce with onions and paprika served over homemade spaetzle. But the chicken paprikash has also become a pizza topping, with just the meat and gravy added to the pizza with cheese.

“It’s a little extreme to me, but people love it,” said Lastuvka.

La Trattoria Bohemia also has a beer and wine menu. They try to keep Czech beers on tap, although it’s been more of a challenge with COVID-19.

The pandemic has been tough for business, and La Trattoria Bohemia is trying to adapt. Recently, the restaurant teamed up with its neighbor, Bonn Lair, to build a back patio space in their shared parking lot.

Hana Tsubaki

At 5006 J St. is Hana Tsubaki, a family-owned Japanese restaurant established in 1978.

“The restaurant has been around so long that we’ve had parents come, and then their kids come. And now they’re married and have kids,” said owner James Takashiba. “It’s multigenerational.”

In the last few years, Takashiba has taken over the day-to-day operations for his parents.

The dinner menu includes a selection of chicken entrees (including the popular chicken teriyaki and sesame chicken), seafood and tempura. Seafood options include a charbroiled salmon teriyaki ($16.95) and a charbroiled mackerel teriyaki ($15.50).

The restaurant also offers a sushi menu with an assortment of nigiri and sashimi. The chirashi ($23) is an assortment of fish over a bed of sushi rice.

Currently, Hana Tsubaki offers curbside takeout only. Hours have been cut back to evenings, Tuesday through Saturday.

“Luckily we have a lot of customers that keep supporting us,” said Takashiba.

If you go

Junoon: 3672 J St., Sacramento. Open seven days a week. https://junoonflavorsofindia.com

La Trattoria Bohemia: 3649 J St., Sacramento. Closed Mondays. https://latrattoriabohemia.com/

Hana Tsubaki: 5006 J St., Sacramento. Closed Sundays and Mondays. https://hanatsubakirestaurant.com/