Oakland has a new limited-time obsession this week: Petit Américain, a French-dip pop-up that sees Danny Stoller, the Square Pie Guys co‑founder turned consultant, back in the kitchen at Mägo for five nights. The short run revolves around a 36‑hour beef French dip and a streamlined $55 four‑course prix‑fixe, with a la carte options holding court at the bar. Stoller is using the residency as a live test kitchen while he works toward a future American bistro concept.
Where and when
Petit Américain runs from Tuesday through Saturday at Mägo on Piedmont Avenue, with dinner seatings available by reservation through OpenTable. The booking page lists both the a la carte offerings and a prepaid four‑course prix‑fixe for the pop‑up. For five nights, Mägo’s dining room and bar are turning things over to Stoller and his team.
What’s on the menu
The headline act is a 36‑hour beef French dip, served with horseradish and plenty of au jus. There is also a vegetarian “veggie dip” made with roasted Korean radishes and charred onion jus. Diners can tack on an optional Gruyère fondue‑style dip, or go all in on the $55 prix‑fixe.
The set menu starts with snacks, including a chicken‑liver “open‑face PB&J” and a beet wedge salad, before moving into mains like crispy‑skin trout, merguez sausage, or a grilled baby zucchini “steak” frites. Dessert keeps things classic and rich, with a choice of chocolate ganache cake or palm‑sugar crème brûlée. “It feels good to be in the weeds again,” Stoller told Eater SF as he described getting back to hands‑on cooking.
Stoller co‑founded Square Pie Guys, which grew from pop-up roots into multiple Bay Area locations. These days, he runs Darling Dear, a hospitality consultancy that lists him as principal and chief creative officer on its Darling Dear page…