Heady Scent From the Grill: The Wood of the Fig

2001 chefs like hardwood floors for barbecue. The fig wood burns hot and fast, sending out exciting, almost sweet floral notes in the air, one of their favorite. In SoHo's Mercer Kitchen, chef Chris Beischer cooks lobster and pizza in wood. Upscale restaurants in California.For smoking meat. Also in Berkeley, Oliver burned it because of spit.roasting.Fig wood from small trees can be obtained from Noel farms, which grow organically in San Joaquin Valley near San Francisco. Family chefs can buy five 12 bundles$3 inch log.99 Citarella stores in Manhattan and water mills, New YorkY.Place one or two branches on glowing charcoal to add flavor and aroma to grilled fish or poultry. If you put a grill on the front cover at the end of cooking for a few minutes, the food will catch a hint of fragrance. We are constantly improving the quality of text archives. Please send feedback, error reports, and suggestions to archid_feedback @ nytimes.com.A version of this article was printed on page F00002 of the National edition on May 23, 2001, with the title: food; Exciting smell on the grill: fig wood