Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published November 22, 2005 Click here for the current edition Chisesi Ham In Time For Thanksgiving You probably won't read anything about this in the newspaper or see it on television, but it's an important story for Orleanians. Especially this week. Today, Chisesi Brothers, the maker of a smoked, boneless ham so superior that no local supermarket with any sense dares to open without it, officially returns to business. They're already in the market to some extent--I bought one over the weekend myself at Saia's Grocery in Mandeville. But today they make a big deal about it. As their commercials have been saying for the last few weeks, Chisesi experienced a major problem after the storm, not from the storm effects directly, but from not having power to run its refrigerators. We don't have to draw this picture in detail; suffice it to say that an non-functioning walk-in cooler or freezer filled with meat for a long period of time really needs to be ripped out and rebuilt. Beyond that, Chisesi's entire fleet of delivery trucks was destroyed by the flooding. The production has resumed, but the deliveries haven't yet. The brand is so strong, however, that many supermarkets are sending their own trucks over to the Chisesi plant to pick up those hams. With good reason: there's no good substitute. I, for one, was wondering what I'd do to make the root-beer glazed ham that my guests now expect on Thanksgiving. I wonder no more. Chisesi is back in town. © 2005 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com