Mosley’s Cafe, Alameda

Just imagine: You're under the covers in your own private boat, gently rocked awake by the ocean. You stretch, step out into the sunlight, and walk a few steps to your favorite coffee shop, where you're handed a hot cup of coffee without even leaving the waterfront.

The owner of Mosley's Cafe, who used to stroll through Grand Marina with dogs in tow each morning, had this very same fantasy. After lots of elbow grease, and what the owner termed a "two-year permit nightmare," the dream of an on-the-water cafe finally came true. Today, locals gather on the Mosley's patio for gluten free or crepes, oatmeal, house-made vegan and vegetarian soup, and a bakery-case's worth of breakfast and dessert classics. And when the thermometer drops, so do the walls and awning of the outdoor patio, which transforms into a heated, enclosed dining room that still boasts Mosley's signature view and atmosphere.