My wife and I are taking our grandkids(2 boys- 7 and 10)to NYC to see the Lion King in February. We are staying at the Marriott Courtyard on 5th Ave.We would welcome suggestions for casual inexpensive eating- breakfast/ lunch and dinner in the greater Broadway/Times Square area.

First - stay away from any of the theme restaurants - which are awful. And the chains have the same micronuked stuff they do at the malls - at muchhigher prices.

One fun place is Ellen's Stardust Diner - which has basic diner food but singing waitstaff (out of work Broadway chorus boys and girls).

Cafe Un Deux Trois has basic brasserie food - and paper tablecloths with crayons for drawing - and they're great for getting people out for the theater.

Roberto Passon has realiable Italian and modest prices.

And there aer a host of inexpensive places on 9th Ave - all ethnicities - depending on what the kids want.

The Red Flame coffee shop on 44th st. between 5th & 6th ave. is a popular place for a cooked breakfast (eggs, pancakes etc.) and not far from your hotel. A famous place for breakfast that's a little further from you is Norma's inside the Parker Meridien hotel. Also inside the Parker Meridien is the Burger Joint with some of the best burgers in the city. You need a reservation there. Ellen's Stardust is good for breakfast or lunch with singing waitstaff.

For dinner, John's pizzeria on west 44th st. is very good, inside a converted church and relatively inexpensive. It's only about a block from the theater. Agree with nytraveler to avoid names you know like Applebee's, TGI Fridays etc. For some reason the food at these places is not as good in NYC as it is at home.

menupages.com is a great website for checking out reviews, menus and doing your own research.

Don't know if you're willing to venture outside the midtown Manhattan/Theater district area. But if your grandkids are adventurous, Chinatown is always a good place to take kids - the various restaurants there have all sorts of foods on display in their windows and the various fish markets with turtles, frogs etc. & general chaos of Chinatown grabs their attention.
Dimsum in Chinatown at Jing Fong, or Dim Sum Go Go can be pretty exciting.

If you're in the mood for "American" food, the Brooklyn Diner Times Square is actually very good (albeit a little on the high-side, pricewise). Outstanding macaroni and cheese (parmesan rather than cheddar) and very good chicken parmiagiana.

Just noticed I intended to indicate you need a reservation at Norma's, not the Burger Joint. Eating before any show since you have a curtain to make, it's always best to have a reservation. Many places can be booked online using opentable.com

Virgil's BBQ is good for kids