NYC, Here They Come Again - Dowds Are Taking Manhattan

Bridget making the selection of Kirk Cousins on ESPN

Bridget with legend Ken Harvey and Commissioner Goodell.

You may remember that my daughter Bridget won a contest sponsored by Verizon  last year to participate in the NFL Draft where she became, to our knowledge, the first woman to make a televised draft pick.  It was the trip of a lifetime, staying in the center of Times Square, rubbing elbows with athletes, media reps, and enjoying all the excitement that the Draft and New York holds. The highlight of her time at the Draft was the opportunity to announce a draft pick for the Redskins, where she shared the stage with Redskins legend Ken Harvey and Football Commissioner Roger Goodell. She so impressed the Redskins that they asked her to announce two other picks as well, including Kirk Cousins, which was controversial at the time, but turned out to be quite strategic when RG III was hurt later in the season.

So what does this have to do with food? Well, Bridget is headed back to the Draft again to participate  with the Skins, sitting at the table during their picks.  This time since she is paying her way, she will be taking the train instead of flying and will have to wait in line for free tickets instead of having VIP tickets that include special seating and non-stop food and drink.

On a budget, she will need to find good food in walking distance to either the hotel or the Radio City Music Hall. And that is where I come in. Last year when she and her dad were headed to the Big Apple I researched places they could go for a good cup of coffee, where they could find pizza, even where they could attend Mass after the day's activities were over. Besides sending out a call to my fellow bloggers, I hit Yelp and TripAdvisor where you can search for just about anything, including restaurants, by location, by cost and by food type (Asian, Italian, Pub, etc). It was a great resource since it carries reviews from people who have been there.  For bloggers, TripAdvisor also encourages reviews of restaurants and allows people who read them to state whether they are helpful or not, which gives you a feel for the reliability of the reviews.

Junior's in Times Square is famous for its cheesecake!

My research last time was very successful- Junior's turned out to be a convenient place with good food. Evergreen Coffee Shop became my husband's  favorite place to grab coffee and a breakfast sandwich, and Patzeria Perfect Pizza provided an opportunity to have a real New York slice.  I know my recommendations were good because the only time that they went out on their own, they couldn't decide and ended up grabbing some mediocre pizza in Hell's Kitchen.

More from their adventure to come, and if you want to read Bridget's more sports-focused account check out her blog at Girly Girl's Guide to Football.