BY MIGUEL OTÁROLA, @MOTAROLA_EATS

It's officially dumpling season at The Denver Post. Today, we're launching our annual food bracket, where we ask readers to vote for the restaurant they think makes the best dumplings in town. It's a tall task considering how many new restaurants now specialize in making them. (Think of all the little pockets of dough made in a single day in Denver...)

Our bracket is below -- with a link to our voting page -- and features 32 restaurants in one-on-one matchups, with several rounds of reader voting. It also outlines our focus: the varied dumpling culture in Asia. So fill out your picks, and we'll share the restaurants going into the sweet sixteen in next week's newsletter.

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EAT THIS

Chook

The Chook on South Pearl Street looks discreet from the outside -- a flat, black entry -- though its interior is warm and open-air, and the rotisserie that spins in the back of the room makes the place smell heavenly. The Chook for You ($12.99) is an easy choice for a single person and includes your choice of white or dark meat, side and dipping sauce. I opted for the dark meat, macaroni and cheese and Big A's BBQ Sauce, carving the chicken and marinated skin off the bone with a flat-bladed knife and dipping it straight into the tangy sauce. It's an engaging eating experience.

1300 S. Pearl St., Denver; chookchicken.com