The original Amerwood, located at 709 Lapeer, opened on Thursday, June 23, 1949. The opening advertisement proclaimed:
“All Saginaw has wondered …where and when a modern dining room and cocktail lounge would open in our town, At last we have one worthy of Saginaw an attractive eating place with intimate atmosphere and casual entertainment.
Located where the Green Mill stood for 16 years. The Amerwood features a completely remodeled interior. The main room is in two sections, one for the bar and cocktail lounge; the other for dining, with accommodations for 140 people. In back of the lounge and dining room will be a private party room, to be ready in the fall.” (The Saginaw News, June 22, 1949.)
This link takes you to the history of the Green Mill, the predecessor to Amerwood.
In converting the Green Mill into the Amerwood, the owners transformed the vast nightclub into a series of much more intimate spaces. Historic images suggest a comfortable – almost cozy - cross between a living room and a hotel lobby. Where there had once been orchestras and entertainers, there was now a sea of tables. Entertainment was limited to background music. The paper reported:
“Miss Janye York of Saginaw will play the piano with solo-vox during dinner hours.” (The Saginaw News, June 19, 1949.)
The Amerwood thrived. Eventually, after an owner died in an automobile accident, the restaurant was purchased. In 1964 a new building was constructed on E. Genesee. Renamed the New Amerwood Inn, the dining spot would operate on and off into the 1970s.
The Recipe: Recreating a Relish Tray – In the Style of the Amerwood Inn
As we have not been able to locate an actual Amerwood Recipe, we offer an interpretation of an item featured in the restaurant’s advertising - a relish tray. If you are not familiar with a relish tray, they were once a ubiquitous staple of mid-century restaurants and celebratory home dinners. Placed on the table soon after one is seated – or sometimes waiting in the center of the table anticipating arrival, they softened the awkward time between seating, ordering and arrival of the first course. And, of course, they softened the temperament of the most “hangry” of guests.
Although there were no absolute rules of what could be included in a relish tray: olives, pickles, pickled beets, spiced crabapples, corn relish were some of the things that could be tastefully paired with precisely cut carrot sticks and celery pieces. More robust components could include cottage cheese, cheese spread and pâté. And lest we forget, radish roses were certainly a welcome option. A 1957 Saginaw News suggestion for an Easter dinner relish tray consisted of: celery, radishes, olives, and cumber sticks.
Presentation was, perhaps, more important than what was being served, and glassware and china manufacturers were quick to meet and reinforce the demand for a specialized serving vessel – the Relish Tray. The idea was to present the items in an appealing manner that enticed guests to try a nibble of each and avoided a cluttered rummage sale-style display.
“Mustard, mayonnaise, pickles relishes. How good they are! But how do you serve them, without making your table look like a delicatessen.” (From a Wiechmann’s advertisement for Fostoria Crystal, The Saginaw News, April 21, 1938.)
With this in mind, we created a mid-century relish tray. As we wanted to make certain we avoided the appearance of a delicatessen – we used a relish tray manufactured by Fostoria in their Lido pattern produced from 1937 – 1954. We confess we used a mayonnaise dish for the cottage cheese. Our relish tray included: carrot sticks, celery sticks, olives, sweet gherkins, pickled beets, and cottage cheese.*
*We would have included corn relish, long a staple on the Saginaw Club’s relish tray. Unfortunately, we could not find any on post-holiday grocery shelves and we were much too lazy to make our own.
CTK NOTES: Yes, we did peel the celery.
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