When we went - a few years ago - I didn't think cafe Tu Tu Tango was all that resonable....one plate per person would be within your budget(though not nearly enough food)...but if you get three mini plates per person you'd be well over budget. Maybe could get by with two plates per person - pick carefully though. Some plates are small. I think the pizza was one of the better options.
We really enjoyed the steakhouse next door - I thin It's called Vito's Chophouse. You might be able to splt a steak. The kid's meals were excellent and reasonable. A single slice of chocolate cake was HUGE - we split it six ways and leftovers. I'm not kidding. It think it was an eight layer slab!
Mind, the last time I dined there was a few years ago...much has changed in the last few months when it comes to dining.
I'm not sure where the nearest Sweet Tomatos is located, but I think it was not too far from that area. It was pretty good and inexpensive. Not too much meat, but very fresh food. They offer an all you can eat salad/soup /bread buffet. Among the bread bar items is a minimalist pizza ('flabread' technically) and a chocolate dessert that was good. It hink they also offer self serve ice cream. The price was very reasonable. It IS a chain, but a limited one.
Another thought that was quite good was the eateries at the Portofino resort at Universal Studios. If you walk along the back side...they have a number of Italian eateries...they slide from expensive to 'budget.' The lowest cost one has sandwiches and brick oven pizzas. I think they also serve pasta dishes. You have to pay to park at the hotel, but teh food ther was very good and the resort, IMO, is prettier than GF. They also have nice Italian music along the water. Somtimes live music. Probably you could check out the menus ahead of time. At least one of the other eateries there was also in your price range.
allearsnet.com has menus for the Portofino eateries, so you can see the options in your price range before you go. The service there was excellent. One time, they even had strolling musicians.
