Sauce or gravy? It’s a question that seems simple enough, but ask any Italian American and you’ll absolutely get an earful. No one really knows who coined the term gravy, or when the sauce-gravy controversy started; however, every Italian-American knows what side they’re on.

Lorraine Ranalli, author of the book Gravy Wars, told Slate, “In my research I found that in the U.S. there are pockets where gravy is the accepted term—in parts of Philadelphia, the Bronx, east Boston and Chicago.” New Yorkers through the five boroughs favor sauce, but there are some NYC gravy fans as well.