re: Rabbi Steinberg
Question
A friend of mine once ate at an Indian restaurant where Rabbi Israel Steinberg was (is?) the mashgiach. He noticed that before bringing their food over, the waiter went to an idol by the wall, did some little ceremony, and then brought the food to their table. My friend asked the waiter what he did, and the waiter response was that he offered some of the food to his god. At that point, my friend was in the awkward position of paying for food that he could not eat (or probably even give away due to issur hanaah?) He called up Rabbi Steinberg, who completely blew him off. ----------------------------------------------------------
Answer
Answered by Aaron Abadi....anyone?..... AA Rabbi Steinberg advertises himself as an "orthodox" rabbi. He is an active member of the Rabbinical Alliance of America (Iggud Horabonim), an Orthoidox Rabbinic organization who last I know was headed by Rabbi Avraham Hecht. Rabbi Steinberg regularly gives supervision to meat restaurants that are open on Shabbat (eg Ben's), Indian Vegetarian restaurants, and butchers that are operated by non-shomer shabbat personnel without constant supervison by an observant Jew.