Born To Be Wild

“Wildman” Steven Brill is an expert at foraging for wild food in one of the most unlikely places: New York City’s Central Park. When arrested in 1986 for “destruction of park property” (for picking and eating a dandelion on a jaunt through Central Park), Brill publicized the arrest, the city dropped the charges and the parks department hired him. He now teaches classes and organizes educational tours explaining the medicinal and edible plants found in the park. He shares how he became interested in eating wild foods, the reactions from his tours and the best eats from the flora of Central Park.

A few Central Park edibles:

Sassafras Sapling

Oyster Mushrooms

Thin Brown Layer -- Tommy Guererro