Looks like the newest 2 Bros Pizza location (on 6th ave btw. 37+38th.) is in a lunch special price war with the neighboring Indian/deli/pizza place that also serves dollar slices. 6th Avenue Pizza is advertising two slices plus a soda for $2.50 and you’ll notice that 2 Bros hastily changed their sign to remain competitive. For those at home keeping score, Two-N-A-Can, the kittty-corner pizza spot formerly known as In-N-Out (on 6th Ave. and 39th) is still selling their lunch special for $2.75.

This just in from Lunch’er Logan… there was a fire during lunch at the 2 Bros Pizza on 46th btw. 5+6th Ave. It’s not clear whether the fire was in 2 Bros or upstairs on the second or third floors, but at the very least we’re guessing there was water damage to the popular $1 pizza joint. Expect them to be closed for the indefinite future.

UPDATE FROM 2 BROS OWNER ELI: “The fire started in an office on the 2nd floor, and most of the damage is up there. Most of the harm done to our store was from water damage. Thankfully, everyone is OK. We are working on getting the place open as soon as possible. I will have a better idea of a time table by tomorrow. For now, regular customers can check out our newest store a few blocks away at 1015 6th Avenue (Between 37-38).”

New York Comic Con began yesterday, which means tens of thousands of big-time comic fans are descending upon the Javits Center to walk the convention floor and check out panels. Although we have little experience eating in Midtown in costume, we do want your lunching experience to match the fun you have at the convention.

Now, admittedly, the Javits Center is out of bounds, and the immediate area around there can be a wasteland for food … which is where we come in: Super Midtown Lunch! (Who’s imagining Zach in a cape right now? Sorry.)

Here are five spots that are a few blocks walking distance from NYCC.

El Ranchito del Agave

One of the closest spots to the Javtiz Center is El Ranchito Del Agave (on 9th Ave. btw. 36+37th.)  I don’t think that the all you can eat lunch buffet that Zach wrote about a few years ago still exists, but they have a nice list of $6.95 lunch specials.

Aura Thai

So maybe, eh, Mexican isn’t your thing, and you’re craving something Asian. Lucky for you, ML loves, loves Asian food. (*Cough* AllYouCanEatChineseBuffet *Cough*) We’ve always been big fans of the duck broth at Aura Thai (on 9th Ave. btw. 35+36th), which comes with roasted duck, noodles and wontons. It is “one freaking good soup.”

If duck’s not your thing, the menu also includes all your favorite Thai restaurant mainstays, plus some other Asian additions.

Five Guys

Burgers. If that’s all you want right now, Five Guys is for you. Midtown Lunch has written plenty about the chain, and in December, it won ML’s Best Hamburger: 2010 Reader’s Poll, so you have the ML community backing you up for your burger craving. About a year ago, they opened an outpost opened up on 34th St. between 8th and 9th Aves.

Go Go Curry

If you’re looking for something a little different, Go Go Curry is one of the one of the few spots in the city that specializes in Japanese curry- and they’re getting into the Comic-Con spirit by holding a costume contest this weekend. On 38th Street, just east of 8th Avenue, it’s slightly further than our other recommendations, but absolutely worth the trek. Plus, the 5th, 15th and 25th of every month is “Go Go Day,” which gets you a free topping, so maybe consider this spot for Saturday’s lunch.

2 Bros. Pizza

At $1 a slice, you definitely won’t find a better deal in Midtown. The most wallet-friendly option has several locations, and the closest to you is on 38th Street and 8th Avenue.

100 extra hit points if you lunch still wearing your mask and cape. And, tweet us the pics @MidtownLunch — we’d love to see ‘em!

2 Bros foray into burgers might have been a misstep, but it doesn’t seem to have slowed down the $1 pizza empire.  Tomorrow (Weds 9/26) a new location of 2 Bros Pizza will open on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th.  It’s the 9th location of the NYC chain, their fourth in Midtown alone, 5th if you count the Flatiron (the other locations are on 9th Ave. and 40th, 8th Ave. & 38th and 46th btw. 5+6th).

Sure enough, all the signage for burgers is gone, the grill where there were once sizzling patties of beef is now barren, and the counter space in the back is once again just a staging area for uncooked pizzas. I haven’t been able to get in touch with the owner to see what is up with the burger operation, but I can’t say I’m surprised by this development. I think I can count on one hand the number of people I saw patronizing that back counter. It seems a waste to not make better use of all that space back there though. Maybe they’ll give the fried chicken they serve at some other locations a shot next!

Related:
2 Bros. Pizza Trying Out New “Burger Bros” Concept

It looks as if the 2 Bros. Pizza on 46th btw. 5+6th is now extending the $1 philosophy to breakfast, offering 2 eggs on a roll for just a buck from 7-10:30am. More relevant to this particular site though is their revamped, expanded burger counter menu, which now has more items, toppings and condiments.

I was happy enough with the McDonald’s-esque burgers 2 Bros. was already serving, but the menu now features hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, combos, different sizes of burger patties and a bunch of other options. The free toppings are mostly standard stuff, but it’s nice to see grilled onions, grilled mushrooms and jalapenos. And bacon on top of hot dogs and burgers can only be a good thing.

The only downside is that all this new stuff comes at a cost. The cheapest hamburger used to be $1.50, but it certainly wasn’t 4 oz. I’m not sure if those smaller, cheaper burgers are still available, but it looks clear that 2 Bros. has bigger plans than just offering dirt cheap food. A return visit seems inevitable.

2 Bros. Pizza, 31 W. 46th St. (btw. 5+6th)

I love 2  Bros Pizza. Their $1 slices of pizza represent the marriage of value and quality that I believe is at the heart of all the best Midtown Lunches. Back in July we noticed that the newest 2 Bros. (on 46th btw. 5+6th) was going to be launching similarly budget-conscious burgers. Cheap burgers are a more dubious proposition than cheap pizza, but I had to find out if the 2 Bros. crew could pull off the same magic they have with their pizza.

The burger operation is completely separate from the pizza one. There is a separate register with dedicated employees and perhaps best of all, it has its own line. And all the times I’ve been in there since it opened, that has been no line at all, as opposed to the line for pizza which can get pretty extreme during lunchtime. I ordered a cheeseburger, a double cheeseburger (you know, for science) and an order of fries. I was able to watch the entire preparation of the burgers, made to order, and the fries, which just get scooped out of a sad looking heat lamp covered tray on the counter.

The big surprise of the meal came on my first bite into the cheeseburger ($1.75), when a Bic Mac-esque special sauce came squirting out. I didn’t see this go on the bun, which is surprising considering the amount that had been slathered on. Regardless of my initial shock, I was happy to have a little something besides the standard lettuce, tomato and onions.

As you can see, it’s an extremely thin patty (this was not so surprising), and the only thing it called to mind was McDonald’s burgers (but thinner), for better or worse. The lettuce was crisp, the tomato was surprisingly decent (I often avoid raw tomatoes completely in NYC). The onions were also fine, although they were at times overpowering. In general, the ample amount of produce made the burgers seem a bit cleaner than I’d expected. The bun was of the cheap, squishy, grocery store variety. It’s not good bread, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t taste good.

The double cheeseburger ($2.75) was better than the single, primarily because of the increased ratio of meat and cheese to everything else. The gooey American cheese was perfectly melted and the patties get the job done. They’re small and not particularly flavorful, but they were cooked well – all the way through but not dried out.

The fries ($1) were lukewarm at best by the time I got back to my office, but otherwise they weren’t bad. Nicely salted, thin fries. Once again, I’m primarily reminded of McDonald’s, and I like McDonald’s fries a lot, especially when they’re fresh. I bet if you manage to get the fries at 2 Bros. right out of the fryer, they’re delicious. Of course, unlike the busy pizza operation where you’re generally guaranteed a pretty fresh slice, it’s probably hard to catch the burger counter when they’ve just needed to make some new fries.

The fast food chains seem like the only comparison that makes sense to me here, based on price and the kind of food being served. I would definitely recommend trying 2 Bros. over another trip to McDonald’s or Burger King. I certainly can’t get as excited for these burgers as I do for their pizza, but I wouldn’t have a problem trying them again if the mood for a cheap burger strikes me, or I just don’t feel like waiting in the pizza line.

2 Bros. Pizza, 31 W. 46th St. (btw. 5+6th)

As if Midtown didn’t already have enough new burger places popping up… yesterday, Lunch’er “Diamondjim” dropped this bomb in the comments re: the newish branch of 2 Bros. Pizza (on 46th btw. 5th+6th):

“Tucked-away signage spotted inside 2 Bros. today:

Burger Bros.
$1.50 burger
$1.75 cheeseburger
$2.75 double cheeseburger
$1.00 fries
$??? milkshake (didn’t remember the price)!!!”

$1 pizza is one thing, but burgers?  We touched based with the owner of 2 Bros. who confirmed the news…

“We are trying a new concept in our 46th St. store called Burger Bros. Pretty much the 2 Bros version of burgers. Burgers will cost $1.50, Cheeseburgers $1.75 and Double Cheeseburgers $2.75. Pretty basic
stuff. We are opening our official stand alone Burger Bros. in late August next door to 9th ave 2 Bros (at 540 9th Ave.) So we thought this would be a good opportunity to test the concept at 46th St.”

Wow. This burger thing is seriously getting out of control… not that we’re complaining or anything, obviously. The 46th Street location of 2 Bros. is not serving burgers yet, but the owner said it might start up as early as next week. Consider us extremely excited curious to see how many burger places Midtown can support.

Related:
Another 2 Bros Pizza Opening This Week