This is the story of Sea Level, a tiny snack shack with the best burger on the Coast
In an aqua blue food truck that can be wheeled away during hurricanes — and was even picked up once by a powerful water spout during a thunderstorm — Dana Barrett found her happy place again.
After Hurricane Katrina, she and her husband, Thomas Barrett, were forced to leave their beloved spot near the Pass Christian Harbor. The couple opened the original Harbor View Cafe in a small building in what is now the parking lot for Bacchus on the Beach. They shared the building with a Domino’s Pizza.
The Barretts reopened and expanded Harbor View in downtown Long Beach, but the water came calling. They sold it and followed a dream to get back to the harbor. That’s how Sea Level, the winner of Sun Herald’s first burger bracket, was born.
“The first Harbor View was small and sweet,” Dana Barrett said. “That’s what we wanted to get back to. We missed seeing the harbor every day.”
Sea Level, across the street from Shaggy’s, offers sno-balls, fresh-squeezed lemonade, hot dogs, fish tacos and their best-kept secret — the Sea Level burger. The tiny restaurant beat out 15 other infamous eateries, and claimed the title of best burger on the Mississippi Coast.
Their burger comes dressed on a buttered brioche bun and has two patties. It’s layered with two different types of cheese: American and a Monterrey-jack cheese sauce.
The sauce and their hamburgers themselves are what separate them from most Mississippi Gulf Coast restaurants, Dana Barrett said.
The smash-style patties are thin and cook quickly, and guests can’t enough of them. On a busy weekend night, Sea Level sells about 100 burgers, said manager and head chef Kyle Thomas, who has worked at the snack shack since high school.
“We wanted to do something a little different,” Dana Barrett said. “We didn’t want fast food, but we wanted it to come out quick.”
Sea Level opened four years ago and has become a staple in Pass Christian. The truck is small, and the restaurant offers outdoor seating along the Mississippi Sound.
Dana Barrett said the restaurant has thrived in COVID since guests can sit outside and easily social distance. What’s harder for her business, she said, is bad weather.
Almost all of the employees at Sea Level or high school and college students, and Dana Barrett said she’s been blessed to not have to deal with worker shortages in the pandemic.
“When a high-schooler leaves for college, their younger sister or brother will take their place,” she said.
What makes Sea Level so special? Thomas said there’s a reason guests come back over and over again, with people from places like Germany and Iceland stopping at the shack when they’re in town.
“We’re really genuine people,” he said. “If something isn’t right, we’re going to fix it immediately.”
This story was originally published August 7, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
