ROOM TO DANCE : Birraporetti’s in Full Swing on Mondays

Born in the USA, raised on rock ‘n’ roll and brought to adulthood dancing to everything from Elvis to the Stones to, God help us, disco, there is a subgroup of the perennial youth culture that still can’t help going all goopy when they hear “Moonlight Serenade.”

You know . . . “Moonlight Serenade.” Two-stepping in dreamland. Saxophones as thick as Vermont syrup. Glenn Miller at the Aragon Ballroom. That “Moonlight Serenade.”

Relax. Don’t panic. It’s OK. You can still keep rock ‘n’ roll in your soul when you have Glenn Miller in your ears. If you don’t believe it, show up any Monday night at Birraporetti’s in South Coast Plaza. It ain’t the Aragon Ballroom, but it ain’t bad.

On Monday’s at Birraporetti’s, from 8 to 11:30 p.m. you’ll have to step out into the mall and listen to the Muzak if you want to hear much of anything post-1945. Inside, it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.

The swing part is provided by the Don Miller Big Band, a true big band with the standard complement of trumpets, trombones and saxophones. Only the music is old, though--the band members are almost universally young, and the leader, Don himself, does a fair Harry Connick Jr. turn as front man and singer.

Refreshingly, the clientele on Monday nights defies pigeonholing by age. While several customers--who inevitably dance--may have first heard “Tuxedo Junction” when Glenn Miller was wah-wah-ing his trombone with his Army Air Force band, there are several dozen boomers and pre-boomers grinning it up with the realization that their parents and grandparents might have been onto something after all.

You’ll want to get close to the band when it starts playing because it’s tough to hear through the bar chatter if you sit in the back. You can stand in the front if you’re not dancing, or you can reserve a table for dinner (served until 11 p.m.) if you have a party of eight or more.

Expect romance. The band has that kind of effect. On a recent Monday, proof appeared in a quick aside from a woman to her date.

“If they play ‘Fly Me to the Moon,’ ” she said, “you’ll have to kiss me.”

They did, and he did.

Birraporetti’s, 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. Reservations: (714) 850-9090. No cover. Band plays Monday nights from 8 to 11:30 p.m.