Who makes the best dumplings in Denver? Vote now in our annual food bracket challenge

Dumplings mean different things to different people. For some, they include not just the renditions that come from the Asian continent, but anything that can fold and wrap something inside of it.

Pierogies, tortellini and arepas could all be considered dumplings. So could frozen pizza rolls from Totinos. Dumplings are also used to describe fluffy matzoh balls or other European soup fillers, like kreplach.

For our purposes in this food bracket, however, we are focused on Asian dumplings — the kind you find in Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, Thai, Vietnamese and Nepalese — among others — restaurants in Colorado.

To do so, we polled our staff, and then we asked readers for their suggestions. The resulting list of 32, which you can see below, will now face off in The Denver Post’s annual March Madness-style food bracket, in which readers will vote for their favorites.

The contest kicks off today and runs for the next five weeks, through the Sweet 16, the Elite Eight, the Final Four, the championship match and, finally — a winner. Voting runs Wednesdays through Sundays each week. We hope you enjoy.