I've been told that Meil's was much less expensive when it was in Lambertville and that prices rose when owners Kristin and Michael Meil moved their homey restaurant to a former gas station in Stockton in 1990. The restaurant reminds me of the Whistle Stop Cafe from Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes, a local meeting place for eating in or taking out. Just inside Meil's front door is a bakery case filled with homemade scones and cakes. In the main dining room, hanging quilts and cast-iron baking dishes decorate the stenciled walls. Tables covered in pink oilcloth and dressed with fresh flowers and wooden breadbaskets lined with checkered napkins complete the picture.
Service is as casual as the waiters, most of whom wear T-shirts and shorts in warm weather.
If you want wine, you'll find a very good wine shop just across the street. Water and soda are served in colorful striped glasses-definitely retro, as is some of the crockery. Food is home-style and hearty but very heavy. Some dishes show a Pennsylvania Dutch influence, like the chicken potpie, which resembles a stew with vegetables and noodles rather than the standard version with piecrust. I'd prefer some of the dishes without their accompanying sauces.