FAMILIES, dates, solo diners and beer nerds are lining up nearly every day to experience Mooney’s Pizza Tavern, a new Long Beach restaurant that’s big on nostalgia and Midwest comfort.
The pizzas come large and piping hot, there are vintage arcade games to play in the waiting area, and for dessert, there’s house-made frozen custard.
“I grew up going to dine-in pizza places and loved it,” said owner Hal Mooney. “All of my family memories growing up are going out to eat. I’m not trying to be anything other than what I ate growing up and still love to this day. … [Mooney’s] is warm, and nostalgic to no specific era.”
The Central Illinois native wanted to incorporate a number of tavern stalwarts, including squeakers — or fried cheese curds — imported from Wisconsin. He’s also offering buttermilk-brined chicken wings, four-meat meatballs, a classic cheeseburger, salads (which can be ordered “family size”), a range of house-made dips and dressings, and frozen custard in two constantly rotating flavors.
Mooney’s uses a combination of five flours for its pizzas, which come in two styles: the “classic round,” a California-style, fluffy-crust variety available in 12 and 18 inches; and the 14-inch pan pizza, which arrives with a crispy layer of cheese at the edges. Toppings include classic options such as pepperoni or supreme, or cheffier ingredients like sausage and chard, eight-hour ragù, or the al pastor-inspired pie slathered with pineapple sauce. Zinc and Pitfire veteran Thomas McNamara is leading the kitchen.
As a cicerone and the founder of beer-tour company LA Beer Hop, Mooney’s path overlapped with the pizza community for years. But when he was hired to develop the beverage menu for a pizza chain, he began learning the trade and later put that knowledge to use in a local pizza pop-up called Crumb, which his friend still runs.