Traditional Cantonese dim sum is a daily event at the year-old Gourmet Inspirations (2646 University Blvd., Silver Spring), which inherited the head kitchen staff of Good Fortune after its 30-year run. It’s worth saving a visit for weekends, when food carts laden with steamed buns, black-bean-sauced chicken feet, and savory domes of Eight Treasure sticky rice circle the banquet-hall-like room.
Sundays at the Cambodian/Taiwanese small-plates spot Maketto (1351 H St., NE), the palm-filled patio draws crowds of dumpling-seekers. The steamed leek and pork buns and caramel-doused fried chicken from the dinner menu are on offer, but you’d do well to branch out for plates of rice-noodle crepes, numbingly spicy cucumbers, and a classic egg tart made by pastry chef Rebekka Baltzell. Nearly everything pops with flavor.
If you’re up for shelling out more cash than your typical dim sum brunch calls for, head to the Source (575 Pennsylvania Ave., NW) on a Saturday afternoon, when we’ve never seen the minimalist upstairs dining room so packed. Forty bucks gets you five dishes, and $56 buys eight. Load up on dumplings—a delicate lobster version, a heartier brisket purse—and don’t miss the fabulous turnip cakes with sweet soy.
Want more breakfast ideas? Check out more than 50 of our favorite breakfast and brunch joints in DC.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
