South O' the Highway (and the North too)

Hamptons author Jay McInerney celebrated his new book, How it Ended, with wife, Anne Hearst, at the Montauk Yacht Club last weekend. Guests included Claire Danes, Andrew Farkas, Cynthia Rowley and Andres Santo Domingo.

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North Haven's Jimmy Buffett was seen talking with Nichols' new owner and Victoria's Secret exec Julie Stone at the popular East Hampton eatery.

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"Real Housewives of New York's" Kelly Bensimon has been assigned two days of community service for allegedly attacking her boyfriend in March.

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Justice is served for Southampton's Brooke Shields! Because a reporter for The National Enquirer briefly kidnapped her mother from a nursing home, the gossip rag will issue a public apology and make a hefty donation to dementia research.

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Hamptons regular Liam McMullan, son of celebrity photographer Patrick McMullan, recently became engaged to Aesha Waks.

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"Royal Pains," a show about a fallen Manhattan doctor who practices in the Hamptons, debuted on the USA network last week. One Newsday writer deeming it "a lot better than I thought it would be."

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Fourteen-year-old East Hampton chef Greg Grossman, who started a catering company when he was just 11, has inked a reality-TV deal with Picture This Television.

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Billy Joel surprised hog enthusiasts last weekend when he popped into the "Billy Joel's Motorcycle as Art and Icon" exhibit at the Christy's Building Art Center in Sag Harbor.

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Sports Illustrated model Jessica Hart kicked back in the Hamptons last Saturday with dancing at Lily Pond.

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Celebrity do-gooders were out in full force last weekend. Actress Aida Turturro and Countess LuAnn de Lesseps of "The Real Housewives of New York City" supported the Southampton Fresh Air Home at the Decorators-Designers-Dealers benefit, while Heather Locklear supported the South Fork's natural beauty at the Nature Conservancy's Beaches and Bays Gala.

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Several Hamptons spots received shout-outs in OK! Magazine's recent "Welcome to the Hamptons" feature. Among the stay-and-play recommendations were The Blue Parrot, The Baker House, Sole East and Trina Turk.

Kimberly Goff of the Elaine Benson Gallery (and Dan's Papers), who continues her mother Elaine Benson's legacy, will work with Julie Keyes of Keyes Arts, to create Benson-Keyes Arts. The duo will start its new venture with three ambitious shows in Southampton, the first of which opens on July 11.

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The Jewish community of Hamptons is gearing up for a first in the summer getaway: a Chasidic wedding. On June 21, Rabbi Leibel and Goldie Baumgarten, co-directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of the Hamptons, will be marrying off their daughter, Chana Baumgarten, to Rabbi Mendy Weiss, of Manchester, UK, at the Ross School in East Hampton.

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Bob Ankerson, 75

Bob Ankerson of East Quogue passed away last week. He loved life - especially jazz - and was a good friend of Dan's Papers, coming in on deadline nights to proofread the paper. He will be missed.

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