Leer en espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\nLocal 10 News reporter Jeff Weinsier recently handed out the first Clean Plate Awards of 2026, recognizing restaurants with zero violations across multiple inspections.<\/p>\n
Pleasures of the Sea: Perfect scores and purpose<\/p>\n
The first Clean Plate Award of the year goes to Melvin Smith, owner of Pleasures of the Sea in Fort Lauderdale.<\/p>\n
\u201cZero violations. Hard to do so we wanted to give you this. Thank you and your staff for doing the right thing,\u201d Weinsier told Smith while presenting the award.<\/p>\n
Smith\u2019s restaurant, located at 2620 NW 19th St., has recorded zero violations across four separate food safety inspections, including its most recent.<\/p>\n
Smith says there\u2019s no secret formula \u2014 just discipline.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you drop it, pick it up. If you mess it up, you clean it up,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
He made it clear to staff just how serious cleanliness is.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told my staff if we were ever on Dirty Dining I would replace the whole staff \u2014 and I meant that, and they know that,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
Pleasures of the Sea operates as a \u201cyou buy, we fry\u201d seafood market.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a you-buy-we-fry. As you can see, we have it all laid out. We weigh it up. They can take it raw or we can cook it for them,\u201d Smith explained.<\/p>\n
But the restaurant was built on more than fresh fish. Smith and his wife, Sonja, are former law enforcement officers who wanted to help people leaving prison find a way forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople would come to me and say, \u2018We need an opportunity, because we can\u2019t get jobs,\u2019\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to my wife and we prayed about it \u2014 and we started Pleasures of the Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mission has paid off.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have had plenty of ex-felons come through, and now we have some that have gone out and started their own businesses \u2014 and they are doing well in the community,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
When asked about the recognition, Smith said simply:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to be recognized. Hard work pays off. Hard work pays off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Papa Pizza Cubana: Five perfect inspections<\/p>\n
In Miami Gardens, another Clean Plate Award went to Papa Pizza Cubana, located at 4625 NW 199th St. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou have had five inspections with zero violations. We wanted to say congratulations to you and your family. Beautiful, thank you,\u201d Weinsier said while surprising the owners.<\/p>\n
The family-owned restaurant has logged five perfect inspections since 2023 and has been serving Cuban-style pizza for nine years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a family dream. We came from Cuba. My dad used to run restaurants over there, and finally we opened a small business. We did our best,\u201d said Lazaro Clarens, the owner\u2019s son.<\/p>\n
Yes, Cuban pizza is a thing. It typically features a thin, buttery crust, lighter tomato sauce, and heavy mozzarella.<\/p>\n
\u201cPizza, spaghetti and lasagna \u2014 a family recipe. The dough, the sauce \u2014 we make everything from scratch,\u201d Clarens said.<\/p>\n
The visit was unannounced, and the kitchen was spotless.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven the inspectors, when they come in to do the inspection, they tell the customers you can eat off the floor how clean it is,\u201d Clarens said.<\/p>\n
Pita Plus: Clean for nearly four decades<\/p>\n
The final stop took Weinsier to Pita Plus, located on Stirling Road just west of I-95 in the Dania Beach\/Hollywood area.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood thing or a bad thing? How is your inspection recently? Always good,\u201d owner ElonCohen said when asked about inspections.<\/p>\n
The kosher Mediterranean and Israeli restaurant earned zero violations on its latest inspection, along with two others in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to congratulate you and your staff,\u201d Weinsier told Cohen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work really hard for that \u2014 the whole team. We have a big team here and we work really hard,\u201d Cohen replied.<\/p>\n
Cohen\u2019s father opened Pita Plus in the 1980s, and cleanliness has always come first.<\/p>\n
\u201cCleaning is the number one. It is the first thing people look at when they walk into a restaurant,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n
The recognition came as a surprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited, to be honest with you. We have been in business for almost 40 years \u2014 it\u2019s a nice appreciation,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou surprised me. You walk in and she said, \u2018We have cameras here!\u2019 Cameras for what? I haven\u2019t done anything wrong,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n
From spotless kitchens to second chances, each of these restaurants is putting health, safety, and integrity on the menu.<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 Several South Florida restaurants are getting more than just good reviews \u2014 they\u2019re earning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":{"0":"post-114392","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-lauderdale","8":"tag-fort-lauderdale","9":"tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","10":"tag-fort-lauderdale-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}