New foodie destination: Flora de Mel meadery + Calliope Restaurant opened last week in Rossville, GA — about 10 minutes from downtown Chattanooga.

While you’re texting your friends to check their dinner plans, chew on this. 👇

Flora de Mel

Have you ever tried mead? The folks at Flora de Mel — which translates to “flower of the honey” — want to open your eyes to the honey-based beverage. All the ingredients used to make the mead, like blueberries, honey and sugar, are locally sourced within ~30 miles of the business.

And the mission is to bring more awareness to the beverage in an attempt to help save honeybees. That’s pretty sweet, if you ask us. 🍯

If mead isn’t your thing, the bar also offers cocktails + beer.

Calliope Restaurant

Once you’ve sweetened your palate with the Adagio cocktail, get ready to dig into some Southern-influenced Levantine cuisine from Calliope, the resident restaurant at Flora de Mel, featuring a hyperseasonal menu by Chef Khaled Albanna.

Chef Khaled was the Executive Chef at the Edwin Hotel before pursuing his own business and passion. “I want to bring my heritage and tradition to the Southeast and tell my story through the dishes I create,” he said.

His heritage lies in Amann, Jordan — a part of the Levant in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

On the menu you’ll find familiar and approachable dishes like hummus, charcuterie, and braised beef. There are also dishes that are less familiar, though still approachable, like “Galayet,” made with ember roasted tomatoes, green chile, pine nuts, and mint + Knafeh, a dessert made with shredded phyllo dough, ricotta, orange-blossom syrup, and pistachios.

Chef-recommended dishes:

Ember-roasted chicken
Grilled merguez lamb sausage
Mezze (a spread of chef favorites)

If you can’t decide on just one menu item, there’s good news — it’s all made for sharing. Altamatue, Nooga.