I often read about people discussing which Italian restaurant has the best 'red' sauce. Is this plain tomato sauce, red clam sauce, meat sauce, etc? Can anyone tell me, and maybe recommend their favorite restaurant in NY for it?

My best friend is Sicilian, and she always thought Luna's on Mulberry street had the best red suace or "gravy" as some East coast Italian will say. It is basic marinara with crushed tomatoes, as it's base.
Judy

"Red Sauce" is a term that refers to Southern Italian restaurants that really feature pasta and tomato based sauces. Most of the locations in Little Italy serve Southern Italian. Il Cortile on Mulberry is one of the better ones in that neighborhood.

Northern Italian cuisine uses very little tomato based sauce. Da Silvano, in Greenwich Village, is a very good Northern Italian. They have great Osso Buco with Risotto Milanese.

The key to a great "red sauce" is the tomato paste. Combine that with whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, lots of garlic, extra virgin olive oil, basil, salt and pepper and it's like being in Napoli. Most of the red sauce places in midtown are gone, but try Johnnie's Italian on West 45th Street between 6th and 7th, it's been around 40 years and send regards to Anthony the host and bartender. It's the real thing.

Don, I can't believe that you think authentic Napoli sauce involves anything canned. My grandma would faint. Once you've had real, fresh sauce, the from-a-can stuff is no good anymore. It's like the difference between fresh-squeezed orange juice and canned oj.

Ellen: Where did you see the word "canned"?

To answer your question, red sauce is what some Italian-Americans call "gravy."

You'll hear a lot of arguments that your have to use whole tomatoes, or puree, or tomato paste, etc. But all of that falls under "opinions are like ..."

Basic ingedients: Olive oil, browned-up garlic and onions, whatever herbs and spices you like (such as basil), maybe a small piece of meat to brown up, too. Then add whatever tomato-based product you're fond of. Simmer.

I like Becco in NY.

Ellen assumed you meant canned tomato paste, Don Pepe, because canned paste is the only kind she's ever seen. She's not familiar with homemade, fresh paste.
Typical American perspective.

It's true, when I see terms like "crushed" tomatoes and tomato paste, I do think of canned. But that's because grandma didn't use those terms when she taught me how to make the real thing, I don't think she knew the English terms.

Ellen: How about passing on Grandma's recipe and we'll see if it passes the taste test. By the way, was she Italian?

How nice that we have such recent immigrants to our fair shores. My uncle has in his possession the 230 year old landgrant from the King of England.

Yes, grandma was born in Naples, arrived here almost exactly 100 years ago. But I had to promise not to give the recipe to non-family.

After over 50 years of marriage, my mom (who's Irish/Lithuanian) still gets annoyed at my dad for calling red sauce "gravy." For her, gravy can only be something meat-based that goes over potatoes.

I'll take a good 100-year-ol "gravy" recipe over a 230-yer-old English land grant any day.

ttt

Lisa:
I often refer to "Red sauce" resturants as your no frills, good eating family style food places. On the oposite scale I would never call "Babbo" a "Red Sauce" Resturant!! Capice! OK, Now Mangia!!
JOHN

Sauce that is just plain tomaotes simmered with spices and herbs is called Marinara. Sauce made with clams can be either red or white. Sauce simmered with a meat product is technically called a "Ragu" in Italy, but has been translated by Italian Americans as "gravy".
To the person who doesn't use anything canned-do you think all of us Italian Americans are going to go without our pasta & sauce Nov. -August? Why would we use those cardboard tomatoes they have in the supermarket to make sauce? Yuck!
Of course we use canned imported Italian plum tomatoes when we don't have the fresh flavorful tomatoes-these are only available in August-October!

Grandma always made up glass jars of extra sauce, but I freeze mine so we can have it all year. Yum, no tinny taste!

Two words: Il Mulino