One contest has us diving under water to the bar counter (you can open your eyes in the thermal shallows) then arising like Zeus to sup a pint in gales of laughter.
You tie on your apron, you flour the counter, you pick up that pin and You.
Right from the kitchen counter, you can text your kids in real time.
At a sidewalk counter you can buy Peking duck to go.
There, along the pickup counter, you find an array of free sides: charred green onions, raw radishes and cucumbers.
With your head down, like someone using a Geiger counter, you make your way across the room.
And once you counter, you have to make a strong move to the basket and let things go".
(While other frustrated travelers shove each other in line at the counter, you make a few calls).
If you sit at the counter, you can watch it being made (more on that in a minute).
Byrn says, "Cake mixes are a reliable friend," adding, "When you have home-baked cake on the kitchen counter, you raise the comfort level of your household".
And at a table behind the counter you will see the sole proprietor -- slim, unassuming, Edwige Fils-Aimé, wearing jeans and looking at you with a shy smile.
