Sometimes I crave a true, authentic, Italian dish with the right cheeses, traditional sauces, and love cooked right into the pasta. Other times, I go to the Olive Garden
Honestly it's so weird. I've been all over and have seen a lot of calzones with sauce inside, and I've seen most strombolis without sauce but with ricotta. But it's still a gamble unless their menu specifically says how they make it.
I prefer the sauce on the side, so I usually get a stromboli, ask for a container of sauce, and roll the dice unless it's a place I know.
Like all exported recipes, it's regional. It's like how American pizza is quite different from Italy. But true pizza isn't the #1 food in the world, now is it? I mean American pizza probably isn't either when other cuisines win by shear population by who's counting
Calzones and stromboli share several the same fillings, including cured meats and veggies. And while both have Italian cheese, calzones are made with ricotta (often alongside mozzarella and/or Parmesan) while stromboli are typically only made with mozzarella. Calzones’ fillings do not include sauce; marinara is served on the side for dipping. Stromboli portions can also be dipped, but they can also be baked with the sauce inside.
This source also specifies strombolis are a different shape, and tbh at one time that was true, but I think that practice has mostly died out and the shape of the two is now often "the same" but dependant on location. The sauce v ricotta situation however is nonnegotiable and places that swap them are wrong.
Source: Food Network and also am retired 10+yr pizza veteran, multiple shops.
Lol it's regional and always fun to stir shit up and make people argue their locally-adjusted version of an imported recipe is correct. Most places do not put sauce inside though and many don't even serve the sauce