Making fine dining backbone of restaurant

Aquatica: A local chef offers gourmet seafood and fine wine at his new establishment in Havre de Grace.

   SPECIAL TO THE SUN

Karen Nitkin

Published on January 23, 2005
© 2005- The Baltimore Sun

For seven years, Mark Laubner commuted to Baltimore for his job as corporate chef at Phillips Seafood. Now, even though plenty of people have told him it's a mistake, he has opened a restaurant less than two miles from his home in Havre de Grace.

From the outside, Aquatica doesn't look like much - it's a spare, brick building next to a tire shop, a martial arts studio and a supermarket. But inside, the efforts of Laubner and his wife, Kelly, have transformed the former pit beef restaurant on the outskirts of town into a tranquil, elegant oasis, painted and furnished in the soothing colors of the ocean.

"It was a labor of love," said Mark Laubner. "I've been here some nights till 2, 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning putting this place together."

He's not daunted by naysayers who have told him the wine list is too complicated and the site is jinxed or simply not charming enough.

And Laubner says he believes Aquatica will become a fine-dining destination, the kind of restaurant that people drive to from Baltimore and elsewhere. He'd rather have his adjacent parking lot than a quaint downtown spot that requires a walk.

And he believes people who eat at his restaurant will appreciate his list of about 120 wines, most from small vintners. The prices for bottles range from $21 to $185, with many wines sold by the glass.

Laubner, 42, has more than a little experience in the food business, though Aquatica is the first restaurant he has opened. He has cooked at fine-dining establishments in Maryland, Delaware and Hawaii and was the host of a cooking show on ABC called Entertaining Seafood from 1999 to 2003. He's waiting to see whether his pilot on tailgate cooking will be picked up by the Food Network.

Laubner is recognized by the nonprofit American Culinary Federation as a certified executive chef, the second-highest level of expertise, below certified master chef. He has loved cooking since he was a teen. "I never really had to work at it - it just came to me," he said.

Most recently, he was a corporate executive chef at Phillips, the major seafood company that owns Philips Harborplace in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Unfortunately, he said, "it got to be more corporate and less chef," and he yearned to spend more time in a kitchen.

He left at the end of 2003, and while he was looking for another job, Kelly Laubner drove past the former pit beef building and noticed a for rent sign. They signed a lease in July and began renovations in August.

With the help of friends and family, they knocked down walls, added lighting and created a bar area. During construction, Laubner wrote on the floor in yellow crayon, trying to picture lighting, traffic flow and other aspects of the design.

The new awning over the front door promises "gourmet seafood and fine wine," and the menu focuses on tuna, shrimp, salmon and other sea creatures. Creations like baked tilapia in rice paper ($18), orange ginger steamed salmon with sweet and spicy sauce ($19) and an appetizer called tuna tartar napoleon, with Asian-flavored raw tuna layered in crisp wantons, ($8) reflect the Asian influence that Laubner gained while working at the Sheraton Waikiki in Hawaii.

Diners who don't want seafood also can choose from several chicken dishes or try a Black Angus steak ($23) grilled to order. Laubner plans to change the menu every three months.

The 64-seat restaurant opened at the end of last month, but an official grand opening is scheduled for Thursday. That night, diners will be treated to free wine tastings.

The Laubners have also persuaded another couple, Jeff and Lucie Yeakel, to open a small bakery in a building on the same property. The business, scheduled to open next month, will mostly sell desserts to other restaurants, but it also will have a retail section.

Lucie Yeakel is already providing some desserts for Aquatica, including a strawberry souffle and a triple chocolate cheesecake. "I think his restaurant is a perfect setup, and the food is incredible," she said.

Jeff Yeakel said there's a need for fine-dining establishments in the area and Aquatica fills that role. "Anybody who knows Mark is really excited that he's opening a place up there," he said.

Mark and Kelly Laubner, who have five boys, ages 3 through 14, like that Aquatica is close to their home. The three oldest, Jacob, 7, Michael, 9, and Jordan, 14, have pitched in at the restaurant. "They punch in on the time clock and everything," Kelly Laubner said.

Laubner likes that his sons are learning about the importance of working hard, that they will see their parents "stand on their own two feet and take a stab at the American Dream," he said.

Only time will tell whether the restaurant will succeed. But every time Mark Laubner looks around - at the seafoam green charger plates that exactly match the trim on the walls, at the gleaming 10-burner gas stove in his kitchen, at the navy-blue bar and the colorful water-themed paintings on the walls - he feels satisfied. "It turned out exactly as I imagined it," he said.

"This is a culmination of everything I know. This is me."

Aquatica, at 931 Pulaski Highway, Havre de Grace, is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday and dinner on Sunday. The phone number is 866-322-7613. Chef Mark Laubner prepares a shrimp and crab scampi at his new restaurant, Aquatica, in Havre de Grace. Opening the restaurant "was a labor of love," he says.