Menuology: Thank You For Smoking

As the city health commission angles to root out smoking in every arena of our lives, the dining industry seems to be headed in precisely the opposite direction. Just about everywhere you look, local chefs are tinkering with the flavorizing power of smoke, and virtually any fuel is fair game. At Sage, Anthony Susi smokes duck breast over rice, spices, and coffee—more subtle than wood, but still intensely aromatic. Myers + Chang's pork spare ribs get a sweetly smoked note from black and jasmine tea leaves, an effect that's "more Chinese and less like American barbecue," says executive chef Alison Hearn.

Even further beyond the usual, Da Vinci chef Peppino Singh uses sandalwood to introduce spicy notes into his wild boar carpaccio. Bina Osteria's Brian Konefal roasts a whole quail in a bed of hay for a burst of grassiness (and what may very well be, overall, the best dish in town right now). Gordon Hamersley and Ken Oringer have been known to smoke meat and seafood over cinnamon sticks. And at Union, Stephen Sherman smokes shiitakes and onion rings, and infuses a duck jus with hickory aroma, a feat mirrored by Banq's Ranveer Brar and his smoked Darjeeling velouté. Sherman has even blown smoke into the dessert course, with a bacon-bourbon sundae atop a brownie seasoned with house-smoked sea salt.

Even as they praise the slow burn, chefs have to be careful not to overdo it. Sherman limits most smoking times to 15 minutes, "so it complements, not overwhelms." But when it's done right, few flavors are more satisfying, or more elemental. "It's like getting back to your roots," he says.