We just got back from that brunch with Jay McInerney. Who else—plied by the promise of free brunch, Bloody Marys and swag—took time out of their busy busy day? Spotted at the bar, grasping hefty noon Bloody Marys were Hunter Hill of Paper mag, Brett Thorne of the Sun, Jessica Green (wife of Bill Buford), Black Book EIC Steve Garbarino avec sa femme, Nicole Miller and film exec Sarah Colleton. And then there was Jay McInerney. This is the first time we've met Jay face a face and he, IRL, doesn't disappoint. He looks almost exactly like a ventriloquist dummy: same grin, those blue eyes at once profound and shallow, the curly hair that looks like a Pixar simulation. When he laughs he actually says the word, "Heh." When we approached him he was inviting Nicole Miller up to his Water Mill house for a party he and Anne were having Friday. Candace Bushnell and her husband Charles were staying the weekend and Brooke Shields was expected. "Jay," we said, "we have some reader-submitted questions for you." His blue eyes grew murky and the grin deepened into a grimace. "Our first question comes from TheBigDoggy who asks, 'What's the best burgundy to serve with writer's block?'" McInerney paused before answering.

In a couple of hours, chronicler of his own loucheness and nominal author Jay McInerney will be hosting brunch at Paris Commune to celebrate Paris Commune serving brunch on weekdays. He's doing it as a favor to his ex, a woman named Jeanine Pepler who runs the PR firm that reps the restaurant. (The story of their connubial dissolution was chronicled by McInerney in an anthology called "Committed." Read the Salon interview.) Today's invitation promises a fabulous giftbag and "as many Bloody Marys as the midday will permit." We've wrangled an invitation by promising we won't be overtly hostile to Mr. McInerney. We will not gently rap him on the forehead and ask, "Is anyone home? Helloooo!? What's your trick, Mr. Magic?" Which is where you come in. Do you have any suggestions for questions we could pose? That aren't rude? When we see him at noon, we'll ask him.