Food Critics: The best dumplings and dough-wrapped dishes in Kansas City in 2022

Whether you’re craving dim sum, pasta, or empanadas, here's where to find the best dough-covered eats in the area.
What is a dumpling? It’s a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough often wrapped around a filling. Many wonderful culinary traditions and cuisines, found in cultures around the world, fall into this category.

“Dumplings, to me, bring to mind dim sum and Chinese dumplings,” says Liz Cook, a writer for The Pitch. “But they can also be something like spoon-dropped into soup here in the Midwest.”

Cook, Mary Bloch of Around the Block, and co-host of KCUR’s Hungry For MO, Jenny Vergara, joined guest host Brian Ellison on KCUR’s Up To Date to discuss the many different variations of dough-swathed dining options found across the Kansas City metro.