Austin Restaurant Suzi’s Chinese Has the Best Chinese American Food | Eater Austin

"At 6:00 p.m. on a Tuesday in late January 2024, the narrow dining room felt like a casual, family-friendly spot with banquette seating along one wall, an outdoor patio, and pretty murals — one of a red-blossoming tree in the entryway and another with flowering trees and birds in the main room. Suzy Yi, who returned from retirement to reopen the restaurant in late January, was there herself, attending to diners, dropping off plates, pouring drinks, and closing out checks. The beverage menu is simple (wines by the glass, sakes including a hot one, beers, sodas, bottled water, and teas and coffee); I had a Kirin Light served with a cold glass. The food is a well-curated lineup of Chinese American standbys: we split a bowl of the hot and sour soup and ordered General Tso’s chicken, orange beef, and the seafood and roasted almond-fried rice, which Yi said was her favorite dish. Everything was absolutely solid and tasted exactly as it should: zippy soup; crispy, saucy, tangy, sweet General Tso’s chicken; flavorful, citrusy, tender orange beef; and a sweet-and-savory fried rice with almonds, raisins, pineapples, shrimp, and scallops. We were seated immediately but the space filled up fast, so if you’re dining with a group it’s worth getting there earlier — for seekers of good, reliable, people-pleasing meals, get to Suzi’s ASAP." - Nadia Chaudhury