Why not put a nice border? It could be a contrasting color, like a pencil liner. Or perhaps a strip of glass tiles or small mosaic tiles?

That's a nice idea. I think it would just involve putting some sort of filler backing first in the joint space to make the surface level. Then, I could apply a nice slim decorative tile.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Anyone else encountered this before and have any other ideas?

If you are happy with the current counter height, you could place a plywood backer to raise whatever material you choose to the old height.

When our granite was installed and it needed a boost to meet my already in place backsplash the installers put in shims to lift it up to meet it. Then they caulked to close gap. It was just a thin bead of caulk. Still looks nice. At my friend's house they used a pencil trim tile piece that ended up looking great.

Could you have the stone fabricators put a 1 3/4" mitered edge on the counters?

kausd--I guess I can't picture what you are referring to.

brian--So to get this straight, the 1/4" or whatever of plywood would be under the stone. And, there wouldn't be a visible gap underneath because the counter overhang would conceal this. Correct?

gr8day--So shims might be somewhat similar to what Brian is suggesting. And, it is good to hear that the pencil tile solution looks good in person.

Thanks all!