For a guy in his 60s, ‘Wildman’ Steve Brill is pretty sprightly. The wild-food expert, vegan cookbook author and tour guide has no problem humping a heavy pack for a four-hour trek around Central Park — especially impressive considering he starts the day with a jog and a Hatha yoga class.
Brill attributes his energy to a strict vegan diet filled with wild foods he’s been collecting from all over the city’s parks since 1982.“I was biking in Queens, and there were Greek women in the park picking grape leaves,” say the Mamaroneck resident and father of one. “I took some and stuffed them. Then I started reading books on the subject and doing experiments.”
The result was a 1994 book titled “Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places,” plus the current app “Wild Edibles with Wildman Steve Brill.”
Today he knows more about foraging in the Big Apple than anyone, works with schools, nature centers and libraries to educate people about how to find free, edible treats and takes keen urban foragers on tours of the city’s parks. This is his edible New York.–KIRSTEN MATTHEW
Christian Johnston
2 of 15
Wisteria, Central Park at West 72nd Street
“These [purple flowers] are wonderful and sweet. I add them to salads, muffins or pancake batter. Don’t eat the ones that are closed though, or the seeds or leaves. They’re poisonous.”
3 of 15
Common Spicebush, Central Park near West 75th Street
“These leaves make an incredibly delicious, fragrant tea. Take a handful, pour boiling water over them, leave for 20 minutes and then drink. For a medicinal dose, use a couple of handfuls and it will fix a fever. Myself, I never get sick. I have all these medicinal herbs, but never get to use them!”
Alamy
4 of 15
Violets, The Ramble, Central Park
“You can eat the flowers and the leaves. The leaves are like lettuce, but more tasty. Add the flowers to salads or put them into ice cube trays and make cubes for cocktails. The flowers are going to get tough in a month or so, so get them now.”
STEVE BRILL
5 of 15
Sassafras, The Ramble, Central Park
“It tastes like root beer with an overtone of cinnamon. Just one root is good for a couple of quarts of tea. Clean the root really well, then boil. Chill the tea, add sparkling water and you have root beer!”
Christian Johnston
6 of 15
Garlic Mustard, behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park
“You don’t want to pick within 50 feet of traffic, even in the park. But this garlic mustard is fine. Put it in a processor with pignoli nuts and make pesto. Or dehydrate, then grind it into a powder and use it as a food seasoning. It’s one of the few things you can find right through fall and winter, into early spring.”
Christian Johnston
7 of 15
Burdock, Arthur Ross Pinetum, Central Park
“Burdock is a delicious gourmet vegetable that’s popular in Japan, China and Korea, where it’s called gobo. It’s very, very delicious, and you can harvest it from early spring to late fall. The leaves are very rough, so they’re only delicious to goats or iguanas. The tap root, however, can be cleaned, sliced razor-thin and cooked in oil with sliced ginger and carrots for a fine dish. Add mirin or wine and cook it for 15 to 20 minutes. Then add toasted sesame seeds.”
Christian Johnston
8 of 15
Wild Ginger, Central Park, near West 81st Street
“You want the underground root for tea, and to cure upset stomachs. The incredible culinary herb — you can use it like commercial ginger — can be found year-round.”
STEVE BRILL
9 of 15
Wineberries, south of Grant’s Tomb, Riverside Park
“There are huge quantities here mid-July to mid-August in the overgrown areas of the park. They are like a raspberry, but much more flavorful. They’re great in muffins, breads and virtually any dessert recipes. Be careful of the thorns when you pick them.”
STEVE BRILL
10 of 15
Mushrooms, Inwood Park
“The best time for mushrooms is late summer and fall, although you can sometimes find large quantities from mid-spring through mid-summer, too, if it rains enough. Mushrooms can be anywhere, but I tend to find the most in wooded areas with plenty of oak trees. Central Park and Fort Tryon Park are all excellent for mushrooming, but I’d give Inwood the edge because of the greater forested area. You’ll find any of the varieties that grow in the Northeast, including my favorite, Prince mushrooms. But be very careful: Some mushrooms can resemble edible species and be poisonous.”
Alamy
11 of 15
Wild Carrots, along the River at Pelham Bay Park, The Bronx
“Wild carrots grow in the sand here from fall to early spring. They’re more chewy than commercial carrots, and they’re also white, but you can put them in cakes and muffins.”
STEVE BRILL
12 of 15
Cattail, The Pond in Morningside Park
“Pluck the stalk out of the water and peel until you get to the tender core. Eat it raw — it tastes like a cucumber — or you can stir-fry or sauté it, or add it to soups. Almost any recipe works with cattail. But eat them in the spring before the flowers appear.”
STEVE BRILL
13 of 15
Ramps, Alley Pond Park, Queens
“In the woodlands across the ball field from the Grand Central Parkway Park House, there are ramps every spring. They have onion-flavored leaves in the early spring, and very savory bulbs from spring to fall. I use them instead of shallots in sauces and dressings.”
STEVE BRILL
14 of 15
Wild Highbush Blueberries, High Rock Park, Staten Island
“In the summer, these are scattered throughout High Rock Park’s woodlands. You use them like commercial blueberries, but they’re much tastier.”
STEVE BRILL
15 of 15
Goutweed, across from the Prospect Park Zoo, Brooklyn
“Goutweed, which tastes just like parsley and can be used the same way, is all over Prospect Park in spring, summer and fall.”
Christian Johnston
