Wicked Good Guides / Wicked Good Guide to Boston English /

Gravy

Tomato sauce. Primarily heard in the over-40 set in East Boston.
KJMac

Comments

Gravy was tomata' sauce that included or was made with meat. "Sauce", on the other hand, was straight tomato sauce (no meat so it was ok have on Friday).

BRK on August 11, 2005 05:03 PM.

Henry Hill, in the movie GoodFellas, explains at one point that he will serve "The Tomato Gravy". And HE was from Longuyland.

Baron on July 27, 2006 06:09 PM.

Yeah, never heard this growing up in Boston, but it's common in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, where I lived for 10 years later on.

dobes on February 3, 2008 02:47 AM.

This isn't from Boston, Gravy is a Sicilian way of making pasta sauce and has become Scicilian Italian slang for all sauce. Sauce is strictly mainland Italian.

Actually "gravy" is cooked WITHOUT the meat and then is pored of the meat, like a gravy over Turkey.

Sauce is made all together

Rich on March 24, 2008 09:41 PM.

You guys a Wicked Retahded

This isn't from Boston, Gravy is a Sicilian way of making pasta sauce and has become Sicilian Italian slang for all sauce. Sauce is strictly mainland Italian.

Actually "gravy" is cooked WITHOUT the meat and then is pored of the meat, like a gravy over Turkey.

Sauce is made all together

Rich on March 24, 2008 09:43 PM.

I learned a few tricks about making "gravy" from an Italian grandmother (not mine) in Woostah, Mass, then later perfected it with friends from Brooklyn, New Yawk, so I have to agree it isn't just a Mass thing, and definitely not confined to Eastie. I think in Woostah they also called it "red sauce," but that coulda been in New Yawk. I cahnt quite remember.

Kelly on March 26, 2008 10:41 PM.

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