And then there were 16. Nearly 500 readers voted in the first round of our annual, March Madness-adjacent food bracket. This year, our focus is on dumplings. Easily securing a next-round spot were Nana’s Dim Sum Dumplings, Hop Alley, Mason’s Dumpling, LingLong Dumpling House and Yuan Wonton. Th e Empress Seafood, a dim sum restaurant (2825 W. Alameda Ave., Denver) featuring carts full of dumplings with other small plates, lost to MAKfam, a Chinese restaurant serving chicken and chive potstickers with soy sauce and plump chicken and shrimp dumplings in an emulsified chicken broth. MAKfam (39 W. First Ave.) received 56 percent of the vote in that matchup. Also out in the first round is Bao Brewhouse, a dumpling restaurant with a prominent location on Larimer Square (1317 14th St.). ChoLon, which has a location nearby on 1555 Blake St., moves on with 53 percent of the vote to face MAKfam this week. Joining these restaurants in the next round are Rocky Mountain Momo, Lan’s Noodles Dumplings, Happy Dumpling, Star Kitchen, Fortune Wok to Table, Dillon’s Dumpling House, Yu’s Noodle Shop, Sherpa House and Momo Dumplings. Our next round of matchups is live. Vote now on which of your favorite dumpling restaurants should move on. The online poll closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, March 8. Based on the hundreds of responses resulting in several narrow matchups, it’s clear people have strongly held opinions over who makes the best dumplings in the Denver area.   ...read more read less