Steve Brill Tour

One of my friends invited me on Steve’s tour of edible plants in Central Park and I had no idea what to expect. In general I’m a little weary of these kind of planned explorations, but Steve nailed it!
We wandered around parts of the Park that I don’t often visit, little trails and sometimes straight through forest. He was exceedingly knowledgable about plants, roots, berries, etc. and conducted his tour with such flair! I’m a sucker for well-​executed puns and Steve, it turns out, is a natural.
My favorite part was when he taught us how to identify sassafras trees (which, I learned, have three different types of leaves!) and proceeded to show us how to rip off parts of the root system and peel back enough bark to taste the sassafras flavor — incredible! Now that I think of it, I also loved finding and eating wintergreen, and stopping underneath massive trees laden with giant, poisonous bean-​pods… he also carried and shared with us a number of snacks that he had prepared using his own recipes based on ingredients found in the park. Of course they were all unusual mixtures of flavors that were totally delicious.
All told, it was an afternoon well-​spent. I can’t recommend Steve highly enough to both native New Yorkers and visitors looking for something off-​beat, informative, and immensely fun.

Hello all! I had the pleasure of foraging through Central Park with Mr. Steve Brill and his protégé Violet. This was a 4 hours of pure learning experience that I would recommend to any and all. Whether you do it as an individual, group or family, you will not be disappointed

Wildman Steve is extremely knowledgeable and entertaining. His tour was great and well paced. I left with loads and loads of berries, nuts and plants.

Went on my first tour with Steve Brill this summer. There were about 40 people. All ages. New Yorkers and tourists. The experience you have depends on the group you end up with. If there are too many people or they’re slow, you’re not going to see or hear much. My group of 40 or a few more was fine.
I spent a few hours in the park. Learned some things about nature and my area that I never wouldve learned on my own. Heard some corny jokes and some fun anecdotes from Mr. Brill. He passed out some homemade foods made from ingredients he foraged. And yes he did some self-​promotion too. I’m not docking him for that. Marketing is everywhere now.
I will probably do another tour at a different time of year.

Awesome! I joined the Steve Brill tour in Central Park yesterday, and I was totally blown away. The tour was so packed with amazing experiences that I don’t even know where to start. Mr. Brill delivered an unending stream of information while showing us one plant after another. His enthusiasm and knowledge are unsurpassed; he is a master on this subject. The large group was no problem since he spoke loudly and clearly as well as repeating things several times so there was no way that you could miss anything. He also verbalized recipes for each plant as he showed it to us, and he even gave us samples of prepared foods made out of the plants. Delicious! I can not think of a single thing that could have been done better. Also, the morning before the tour, he called me to make sure that I knew how to get there, as well as giving me helpful info about what to bring etc. Very thoughtful! I read some of the negative reviews that he has gotten, and I could not believe my eyes. How can you be offended by his jokes? The one about South Bronx and needles was hilarious! He did not tell this joke to us, but I wish he had. He told us many others, and they only made the experience better. Also, of course he promotes his books and his app. Why would he not? He is clearly a smart guy, and his self-​promotion did not take away from the tour. I can’t believe that he only charges $ 20, because this wonderful experience was worth a lot more. Brill must be short for brilliant, because that is what he is. Thank you, Mr. Brill, for an unforgettable experience!

What fabulous time! I never new you could eat so many delicious things in central park. I highly recommend this to natives and tourists alike!
jb

I found out about this foraging tour via Groupon, and I ended up going on the tour with my husband this past weekend. Overall the tour was a good introduction to city foraging, but if you’ve done anything like this before, Steve’s tour may not be exactly what you’re looking for. We enjoyed ourselves but we felt like there was quite a bit of information missing and the 3 hours didn’t cover as much as we hoped it would.
The tour started at 11:45am on Sunday, with vague instructions to meet at the W 72^nd St entrance of Central Park, which is quite a large area. Steve ended up being fairly easy to find, as he looks exactly like the pictures on his website picture, hat & glasses included. The tour was ridiculously crowded, possibly over 40 people. It was also very disorganized, so we didn’t really start anything until past 12pm.
We started by learning about gingko trees and their nuts. Steve told us that you can harvest the nuts from the smelly fruit, which is not edible, and then you can cook/​roast the nuts so that they are edible. He let us try some nuts that he had roasted. My husband and I liked them a lot so we ended up eagerly harvesting two ziplock bags (we continued to forage after the tour). What Steve failed to mention is that many people have an allergic reaction to the fruit, much like a poison ivy reaction, and when I was washing the berries at home, this is exactly what I had. I researched a bit online and found this written about in multiple sources (research articles on google scholar), as well of skin peeling in the days after exposure. It’s been two days and my hands have been peeling like CRAZY (like a bad sunburn times 1000… I am wearing plastic gloves as I type this to prevent my skin from peeling… incredibly gross, I know). I also found out that you should not eat more than 8 – 10 gingko nuts a day, since too many can cause intoxication with symptoms like decreased heart rate and seizures. Yes, SEZIURES. You’d think he might have mentioned that, especially since he told us all a story about a friend of his who collected two grocery bags full of gingko nuts, washed them at home, and served them for a dinner party.
We harvested some other berries and plants and we learned about some very poisonous plants, but Steve often stopped to tell long stories or to show numerous pictures he had taken or drawings he had made. This resulted in the tour group moving veeeerrrry slowly.
Our lunch break last over 45 minutes, so this also took away from tour time, since Steve wasn’t really talking to the large group or teaching us during this time.
While we did identify sassafras, burdock, sheep’s sorrel, field garlic, and American persimmon, I just felt like a lot of tour time was wasted. Steve also spent a lot of his time trying to advertise his books and his app.
Steve seems very knowledgable and he is friendly, but these huge group tours may not be the best way to learn and forage.

What a great unique event. Nothing lame about it like the other comment suggested. Yes, 50 people showed up, so lean in and listen closely because there was a ton of information shared. So much time was taken to prepare for the walk which included pics, drawings and even a few samples of his food creations. We loved it and will return!

This tour way very boring.

I went on one of Steve Brill’s tours and enjoyed it thoroughly. I learned to look at the park foliage in an entirely new way.

Mr. Brill clearly has an encyclopedic knowledge of plants, but he seems to take equal pride in offering information that has nothing to do with edible or medicinal flora. This walk could have been great if he had simply stayed on topic without incessant digressions into tasteless, sometimes offensive jokes (i.e. a plant being like the South Bronx in that it was full of needles); detailed stories only distantly related to foraging; and precise vegan recipes. We started late, we waited too long for too large a group to catch up, and we heard far too much completely irrelevant information: by the end of the tour, many people had simply stopped walking with the group out of exasperation. I’ve been wanting to take part in one of his tours for years, and I was deeply disappointed.

I went on a Prospect Park — Foraging tour today with my husband.
I found this to be a deal on Groupon and then checked out reviews over Unilocal and made up my mind about this kind of tour.
It was my first of its kind and a total mixed bag.
To be honest — a bit over rated!!!
The tour was expected to start at 11:45AM sharp as stressed by Steve, but it dint. I would suggest to arrive late as the first 20 minutes are only about Steve going ga-​ga about his book, his recipes, his mobile app etc etc (btw this will go on all tour long, more of advertising and selling).
As promised, we could have lots to eat and bring for kitchen — it was a disappointment. We only could find June berries and then in-​numberable wild leaf species which dint make enough sense. The leaves get repetitive and boring after a point in time. Mushrooms, mulberries, Raspberries were ALL MISSING!
Steve makes a good guide though and is very passionate about his work. He has a good knowledge of his subject and the stuff he demonstrates oh his i-​pad are interesting. During lunch break he sampled his homemade spiced sunflower seeds, vegan strawberry ice-​cream and roasted leaves– which were amazing in taste.
Overall go for the tour for an experience of forest walk or if you are a botanical student.

Recommend for nature lovers and foodies.
Went on the Central Park foraging tour and it was a great time!
It’s incredible how much there is to be found even in however little slice of nature we actually have in NYC. To think of all the things I missed all the other times I’ve walked around the park!
Here’s a partial list of all the yummy things we came across and/​or tasted:
Poor man’s pepper (mustard)
Quick weed
Mushrooms growing in wood chips
Yellow wood sorrel — tastes like lemonade
Indian strawberry
Common plantae — healing properties
Wild purple shiso
Cat’s tail — cucumber taste
Sheep sorrel
American mandrake
Wild peach tree
Wild blackberry
Garlic mustard
Field garlic
Sassafras — root beer
Relaxing, fun, and educational. Definitely kid friendly too. I am planning to come back in a different season.
(FYI I was concerned about pesticides going in but Steve said in CP it’s applied on the lawn, in the Conservatory garden, and on playgrounds so kids don’t trip over weeds supposedly — too costly to apply everywhere else. Judging by the live ants and bugs I saw near the plants looks like it is indeed the case.)

I did a foraging tour in Inwood late March and was a bit worried that there might not be much to find since the winter has been so long and cold. There were certainly a few things that we looked for that weren’t out yet, but Steve still managed to show us a ton of stuff! I’ve been back to the park since and easily identified the ingredients I enjoyed most and have been using them regularly in my meals at home.
The four hour tour includes a lunch break during which Steve shares some samples of recipes featured in his cookbook and they are absolutely delicious.
I loved the tour and plan on repeating the experience as the seasons change. I definitely recommend checking it out.

I’ve been on two tours with Wildman Syeve Brill. One was in the Spring and the other in the fall. I enjoyed both, however, I will say the spring tour was quite crowded and less enjoyable as a result– I think this had something to do with the promise of ramps. The fall tour was pretty amazing in Forest park in Queens, much less crowded, but included wild nuts and mushrooms– kind of amazing.
Depending on the number of people and general interest level of certain plants he will vary the content– but he will discuss plants at various stages in their life cycles and what not to pick.
He’s a true eccentric and will tell ten thousand corny jokes, is totally into self-​promotion, and a real NERD. He’s a gem! Such a New Yorker! I love how goofy he is and his rediculous brillophone. He’s also incredibly knowledgable, and generous of spirit. So go, it’s an experience.

I took my husband on this tour for his birthday. It was a fabulous experience! I recommend it for any New Yorker who wants to get closer to NYC’s natural side. We left with a ton of fun plants that we are excited to cook with.

I have not been on one of Wildmans walk, but I do own his app and it is the best.
I love the app on my Ipad and my smart phone! Everyone should have one! Great close up photos full color, and so much information. Everything from poisonous look alikes to recipes. Valuable tool in the field and the back yard! Thank you
.
Wild Edibles is the name
WinterRoot LLC

What a blessing to have someone point out all the edible, delicious, magic nature that lies within our hectic, steel city!
This review is long, long overdue. I went on a tour with Steve five years ago when I was pregnant with my first. It was so exciting to learn how to walk right into Central Park and find snacks and medicines provided by the park herself. Everyone on the tour was very kind and the four hours quickly flew by.
After 5 years, I plan on finally taking another tour within the next couple of months, to help discover what lies in the new neighborhood I’ll be moving to. Thank goodness Steve does a tour at the park there! Highly highly recommended and I hope more New Yorkers are guided toward this helpful teacher and wonderful experience.

A wonderful, informative, fun tour I would recommend to anyone interested in urban wildlife, vegetarian cooking, native plants, or anyone with energetic children who need some time in the outdoors. Wildman Steve Brill is full of information about local plants and what is good to eat at what times of the year. He does tours in parks all around the city and upstate. His cheesy «dad» humor adds to the fun. You can also come home with lots of delicious new food to incorporate into your dinner. We made garlic mustard pesto last night with our foragings and it was the best pesto I’ve ever made.

If you are interested in local wild food, Wildman Steve is your man. The tour is group and child friendly and not very physically taxing. Every tour is different and he has tours all over the five boroughs and neighboring states. There are a lot of repeat foragers, it is an excellent day outdoors. I’m not much of a fan of group tours but Steve runs a good show and is very knowledgeable and delivers his message well. It is fun and informative tour.
Here is the list of stuff we found and I ate on my 4 hour November 25, 2011 Tour.
Wildman Steve — Alley Pond — Nov 25
Starting at Oakland Lake
Rosehips Ripen after a goodfrost.
Watercress. Awesome.
Sassafras & Poison Ivy seem to grow together. Original Rootbeer flavor
Garlic Mustard. Horseradish tasting roots
Crabapples.
Chicken Mushroom
Black Birch
Common Evening Primrose. Found in Sandy soil.
Shaggy Mane Mushroom.
Red Clover All Pink, Flowers only.
Mullen for Coughs
Field Garlic
Curly Doc
Bill’s Chocolate Vegan Truffles. Yummy
After lunch, Alley Pond Park
Burdock
Celandine for Warts.
Bitter Doc. Fake Burdock.
Jewel Weed mosquito bite antidote.
Black Cherry Tree
Winter Crest. Bitter
Bay Leaf — Northern
Autumn Olives.
Honey Locust
All you really need is lunch, water, comfortable sensible hiking shoes and clothing. Maybe some bags for the found food/​herbs will be wanted.
Steve and the edibles didn’t kill me and surprisingly the found food was mostly delicious.
Steve has an Iphone/​Ipad App that is nice and helps bring his tour to life. You don’t need it for the tour. He has an ipad that he uses as a visual aid.
Thanks Jando for making it an event! I would have never gone.