Flickr photo by andrew.deci

Sea Scallop Sui Mai / Photo by Joe Newman

I admit that I’m a dim sum snob. If it doesn’t come in a bamboo steam container served from a push cart, it’s already got two strikes against it. Which meant Saturday brunch at The Source – Wolfgang Puck’s five-year-old foray into the Washington, D.C. dining scene — was starting off with little margin for error.

At the Newseum’s signature restaurant, Puck does for the traditional Chinese dumplings and buns what he did for pizza. Made it better? Not necessarily — but it’s definitely more interesting.

You would expect nothing less from Puck, who has transcended celebrity chef status to become one of the food industry’s most valuable brands. The Austrian-born entrepreneur may have made his name reinventing pizza in Beverly Hills, but these days, he’s more Vegas, baby.

According to his website, six of his 21 fine dining restaurants are in Las Vegas, matching the six he lists in the Los Angeles area. The Source is one of only two restaurants on the East Coast, with the other up the road in the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.

Paired with the Newseum — one of the best “non-free” museums in the District — The Source is aptly named, as this is a city where everyone either is a source or relies on them.  Still, Puck conceded in a 2008 Washingtonian interview the name took some getting used to: