Health food store for weird ingredients in Brooklyn?

[bluishgnome]

I recently came upon a root beer recipe on Chowhound and am really interested in trying it out. Unfortunately, I have no clue what half the ingredients are or where I could find them. The recipe advises going to a health food store or herbal medicine shop. I happened to stumble upon one last night but they had no clue what I was talking about.

Does anyone know a shop in Brooklyn (or Manhattan, I guess) that sells:
licorice root
dried sarsaparilla root
dried sassafras root bark
dried burdock root

Thank you.

[rothchild]

I second Perelandra Natural Foodsin Brooklyn Heights..they have a counter near all the herbal medicines/vitamins that should very helpful

[magnetomotive]

If you need the oddest spice and/or herb you can almost always find it at Kalustian's at 123 Lexington Ave. in "Little India" in Manhattan. I'm not kidding when I tell you they have nearly every herb and spice known to man that's legal to sell. I'm pretty sure I've seen stuff there that maybe shouldn't be legal to sell too. It's like a spice library. Its worth the trip out of Bklyn. I get my fennel pollen there. Also you could try Sahadi's on Atlantic although they tend towards just the spices.

[Woodside Al]

Can you still legally buy sassafras root bark? I know that the last time I went to find sassafras bark for tea I was told that the feds had banned the sale of the stuff.

[Matt M.]

Another option may be Park Natural on Court and Union.

[Peter]

You could also try Perelandra Natural Foods on Remsen between Court and Clinton in Brooklyn Heights. It's a largish health food grocery store with a substantial vitamin/supplement/powders-that-are-unknown-to-me section.

Peter

[Quine]

I can't imagine a health food or hebal medicine store not knowing these, they are pretty common and known.

Dixiedays is steering you to some good places, so you will end up all the better for it.

[dixieday2]

I would try Aphrodisia, a hippie-ish herb/spice/New Age-y shop on Bleeker St in the Village (in Manhattan). They have a very broad range of herbs & spices for sale. Good luck! You might also want to check with stores that sell home-brewing supplies; although most sell extracts rather than the actual roots, they might have a line on where to get them.
You could also try the Penzey's spice stand in Grand Central Market, or see what they've got available online.

Aphrodisia, 264 Bleeker St, NY [phone]

[Old Spice]

I had the same thought as dixieday2....Aphrodisia. But you might also phone Two For The Pot on Clinton Street, between Atlantic and State. I've never noticed your ingredients there, but then, I haven't been looking for them.

[bluishgnome]

Thanks for the replies, everybody! I really appreciate it. I'll try to drop by each one as my root beer brewing adventures continue.

But I dropped by Aphrodisia yesterday and picked up everything I needed... or just about. They only had chopped licorice root... I need a 5inch piece. The lady suggested half an ounce would equate to a normal 5 inch piece. Can anyone confirm that?

Speaking of the lady... she wasn't very friendly... to me, anyway. I mean... I may not be the neighborhood norm, not dressed in stylish clothes and all... but I got a major hauty vibe from her. She didn't even show me where the herbs were... just briskly pointed in general directions. I was polite the whole way through, but what really bugged me was when I said "Have a good day." and she quickly snapped back "Bye." without even looking up from her magazine, waving me off. Eck.

Great store, but I think give the other stores a try before I ever go back there.