This past Wednesday, Yeshiva University High School for Boys’ (MTA) 10th grade Yeshiva Fellowship was privileged to visit Mike’s Bistro for a special field trip to learn about practical kashrus. First, Rabbi Dov Schreier, a senior Rabbinic Coordinator at the Orthodox Union, presented a slideshow to us highlighting various kashrus problems, teaching us how to be educated consumers at kosher venues and highlighting what questions are good ones when it comes to kashrus matters. This covered a wide variety of topics, from “What qualifies as bishul akum?” to “Why is it important to know the whole story in kashrus?” and even “Are Oreo’s dairy?” After this, we went on a guided tour of the restaurant’s kitchens, led by Rabbi Schrier and the various mashgichim. We were able to see some of the things we had just learned about put into practice, such as the use of color-coded deep fryers for fish, meat and pareve items, and the one-way entrance through which all deliveries go in order to insure that everything is supervised upon arrival. We then hopped on the bus for a delicious lunch at Amsterdam Burger before heading back to MTA. Our kashrus trip was very informative and opened our eyes to the fact that we, as consumers, are responsible for what we put in our mouths. We thank Rabbi Pearl, Rabbi Schreier and Mike’s Bistro for making this trip such a success.
By David Tanner
