Ever in search of old school Italian restaurants with live music for a wonderful evening of dinner and dancing, we found it atSolari’s Restaurant in Hackensack, NJ.

The first Tuesday of the month is Big Band night where the “One More Once” Big Band, an 11 piece all male band (girl singers: please get in touch with them!) captivates a loyal following who know their foxtrot, swing and cha cha.

Enjoyed our classic Italian sausage and peppers appetizer and chicken parmigiana as they started the evening out with “Dancing in the Dark” and “I’ll Never Smile Again.”

How to get there from Manhattan? I’ll tell you exactly what to do: Take the 6:03 pm NJ Transit train from NY Penn Station. You’ll need to change trains in Secaucus and I like this departure because it gives you 13 minutes to connect to the 6:25 train to the Essex Street stop, arriving just less than 20 minutes later. At Secaucus, the connection is in another part of the building up an escalator then down another, to find your next train among a choice of A through H platforms.  From the train station, Solari’s Restaurant is 5 minutes away. We like a 7:15 dinner reservation which gives us plenty of time for dinner and a few glasses of wine before the band starts at 8:30. They take a nice long dinner break after their first set which ends at 9:30 so it’s up to you and your schedule for the next day whether you leave then or dance the second set and end your evening after 11 pm.

Your fellow dancers are regulars; some might have enjoyed listening to Frank Sinatra in person at one time, some might be dance teachers, some, I overheard, belonged to a college swing dance club.

There’s no cover charge!  Begin the Beguine at Solari’s Restaurant.  http://solarisrestaurant.net/