Photograph by Cinzia Reale-Castello

Your kids want:

Mac and cheese | Chicken fingers | Lemonade | French fries | A hot fudge sundae | Tacos | Hot chocolate | A milkshake | Burgers

GO TO:Cup Diner and Bar

A grilled cheese sandwich should be foolproof: After all, it’s just American cheese melted between two slices of bread. But so much can go wrong. Soggy or burnt toast, undercooked cheese or a downright skimpy portion can utterly ruin this perennial comfort fave. That’s never the case at Astoria’s Cup Diner and Bar, right across the street from the American Museum of the Moving Image and two blocks from the Kaufman Astoria multiplex. The generous slabs of sourdough bread soak up butter without being overpowered by it, and are nicely browned by a flat-top Salamander grill with a nifty overhead flame. Grilled cheese is among the diner’s regular à la carte offerings, but on the kids’ menu, which also lists chicken fingers and “pasgetti,” the sandwich ($6) comes with lightly seasoned curly fries (a salad or steak fries may be substituted on request) and soda, juice or milk. Like the special menu, the room’s decor wins major points for tyke appeal: The bustling space is bright and airy, with large windows up front, massive sepia- and blue-toned murals, and an exposed kitchen in the back. Cup’s manager-chef Jerry Feidner describes the look as “retro, but from no particular period.” In other words: classic. Kind of like grilled cheese. 35-01 36th St at 35th Ave, Astoria, Queens (718-937-2322).

NEXT BEST THING:Say Cheese!

This Hell’s Kitchen hole-in-the-wall, the self-described “home of the grilled cheese sandwich,” will please both pedestrian and more daring palates. Start the kids off with Monterey Jack or Muenster on a signature panino ($4.25), and they just might graduate to more sophisticated fare, like Gruyère or Gouda. Think of it this way: grilled cheese as gateway drug. 649 Ninth Ave between 45th and 46th Sts (212-265-8840).

Patty time! | Table talk | Eat with your hands | Dinner theater