Chef Turns Hurricane Cancellation Into Road Trip Excuse

Hurricane Irene scrambled airline and train schedules on Saturday and Sunday, leaving thousands of travels stranded. But one tourist, Michael Laiskonis, the pastry chef at three Michelin-starred Manhattan restaurant Le Bernardin, saw the silver lining in the massive East Coast storm — and embarked on an impromptu road trip from Miami to New York City after his flight home was cancelled.

First reported by foodie website Eater, the road trip has already taken the chef to the Carolinas, where he's discovered a massive fireworks store and Triangle Waffle in Dunn, North Carolina, where the sign out front advises that "Jesus is Lord."

The chef is soliciting tips for his trip on Twitter, though it's a bit too early in the morning for Carolina barbecue. As he continues northward, he's filling the gaps between rest stops with shots from his recent trip to Colombia, the country he was visiting as Irene crept toward the Northeast.

At 11 a.m., Chef Laiskonis tweeted that he'd made it to the Virginia border. Recommendations of interesting things to eat in points north should be addressed to @mlaiskonis.