{"id":87388,"date":"2025-10-30T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=87388"},"modified":"2025-11-07T06:41:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T14:41:39","slug":"dirty-pepperoni-pizza-mikey-loco-harley-custom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/food\/dirty-pepperoni-pizza-mikey-loco-harley-custom","title":{"rendered":"This custom Harley builder just opened a pizza place. He calls it Dirty Pepperoni"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Turns out, you can learn a lot about the mindset it takes to make a perfect pizza by hand-crafting custom Harley-Davidsons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mikey Loco has worked in motorcycle garages for years, making a name for himself and the intricate, obsessive builds that come out of his North Long Beach shop, Dirtbags California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m 90 percent done with a build, I\u2019m going to tear it down and redo it to my standards and then present it,\u201d he said in an interview<\/a> about his process a few years ago. \u201cI want to be No. 1 at everything I do. So I take it to the next notch, take my time, make it perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

That ethos is also behind the swirled marble floors, motorcycle headlights that illuminate the dining area, and fanatically tested pizza dough at his new restaurant: Dirty Pepperoni.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loco said he hand-picked each part of the design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe bikes that I build are very, very attention to detail. So this is what we’re bringing here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Lev Kim and Mikey Loco, co-owners, stand outside their newly opened pizza restaurant, Dirty Pepperoni, in downtown Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2025. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since their soft opening on Oct. 20, Dirty Pepperoni and its staff have been working to \u201cfeed the city\u201d with their specialty pizzas and sandwiches served out of a spot on the ground floor of the historic Broadlind Hotel building in downtown Long Beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The jump from custom fenders and pipes to pizza wasn\u2019t all that odd for Loco, who previously worked in the bar industry. The opportunity arose from a conversation with his chef friend Lev Kim, who, for the past 12 years, had been testing recipes for what he hoped was the perfect pizza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just felt like Lev was our secret weapon,\u201d Loco said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim filled notebooks with notes as he worked out details such as the best way to prepare the dough, what spices to use to season the oven and how thick to cut the vegetables so they\u2019ll cook perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A couple walks by the newly opened Dirty Pepperoni in downtown Long Beach, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2025. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u200b\u200bThis is the result of hard work, passion [and] patience,\u201d Kim said. \u201cI think people appreciate this effort that we put in every day in the morning before opening, preparing everything fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the couple of weeks before opening, the team tested so many pizzas to make sure they got everything right that Loco said he probably gained 10 pounds. They particularly focused on their signature pie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing called Dirty Pepperoni, we had to dial in on our pepperoni,\u201d Loco said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After testing dozens of pepperonis, the team found a special blend of beef and pork that has a lower percentage of fat, ensuring their pizzas are not overly greasy. It also has a bit of sugar to crisp up the edges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Chef’s Special pizza at Dirty Pepperoni restaurant in downtown Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s now a top seller, along with their Chef\u2019s Special, which has a white garlic sauce, mozzarella cheese, bacon, fresh oregano, ocean clams, fresh garlic and parmesan cheese. Pizzas at Dirty Pepperoni range from $18.99 for a medium cheese pizza to $39.39 for a large Chef\u2019s Special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on the response they\u2019ve seen in the first week alone, Loco is confident Dirty Pepperoni will be a success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’re having a great time, and the place is going to do well,\u201d Loco said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said Dirty Pepperoni will have its grand opening sometime next month. They\u2019re just waiting for their liquor license and a few custom booths that will have real motorcycles built into them to round out the space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Dirty Pastrami Sandwich at Dirty Pepperoni in downtown Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After that, Loco will turn his focus to another passion, his youth program called Dirtbags Academy<\/a>. It helps local young people explore career paths through mentorship, hands-on skill-building opportunities and community projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next cohort at Dirtbags Academy will have the opportunity to work at Dirty Pepperoni to gain experience in the restaurant industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can work with them and put them in areas where they can learn. And then the sky’s the limit for them to go wherever they want,\u201d Loco said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dirty Pepperoni, 149 Linden Ave., is open Sunday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe bikes that I build are very, very attention to detail. So this is what we’re bringing here,\u201d said Mikey Loco, known for the immaculate Harley-Davidsons that come out of his North Long Beach motorcycle shop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":87361,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32346],"class_list":["post-87388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87388"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87471,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87388\/revisions\/87471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87388"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=87388"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=87388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}