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Cheap Eats By Traci Vogel Lunch Vox Fountain Alley Between First and Second streets, south of Santa Clara Street 408.882.5064 Every Monday, 11:30am-1pm Free Sun-Thu 11am-9pm; Fri-Sat 11am-9:30pm ON A RECENT Monday lunchtime, the crowd in Fountain Alley included parents and kids in matching sun hats, business-suited executives, college kids in Day-Glo backpacks and one police officer on horseback. Even the horse seemed to be enjoying the catchy jazz that bounced off the building walls. The live music, from a band called Strom and Sorkin, came courtesy of Lunch Vox, a program organized by Populus Presents. The populace in Populus Presents are downtown businesses and organizations brought together by the San Jose Downtown Association and the Redevelopment Agency. Populus' aim is to bring entertainment to the streets, and while the jokes about San Jose having to hire street musicians from out of town have flown like so many juggled rotten tomatoes, in reality Lunch Vox is a pleasant and escapist away-from-work experience. The "lunch" part of Lunch Vox is a BYOB--Bring Your Own Baguettes, or brie, or babaganoush--but there are plenty of cafes in the area willing to brown bag it for you. For more info, and a list of performers, call the phone number above or visit www.populuspresents.com. Send a letter to the editor about this story to letters@metronews.com. [ Silicon Valley | Metroactive Home | Archives ]