Ethiopian finger food with a bottle of honey wine is one of the best meals I have ever had. A little bit of variety for everyone and a unique drink you don't find in bars etc.
after a long night with the products of enthusiastic but only moderately talented brewers, mead and i are officially no longer friends.
hopped cider, oddly, is substantially better to my palate than normal ciders, so perhaps the same is true for mead.
I've had a hopped mead called "Dansk Mjød" from my local grocery store, and while still on the sweet side, it was quite good - this coming from someone who prefers unhopped cider and low-hop beer by a long mile.