Kinloch Lodge's 'beer flights'

Michelin-starred Kinloch Lodge in Sleat on the Isle of Skye, which is owned by bestselling cookery writer Claire Macdonald, has begun to offer ‘beer flights’ to match every dish on its menu. The restaurant already offers ‘wine flights’, ‘malt whisky flights’ and ‘beer and dram chasers’.

Sixteen beers have been selected - fifteen of which are from Scotland – making this one of the most extensive bottled-beer lists of any Scottish restaurant.

Sam Smith’s raspberry beer from Yorkshire is the only English beer. The others come from Skye, Orkney, Arran, Edinburgh, the Black Isle, Alva, Alloa and Fraserburgh. Other ingredients include heather and seaweed, which were used in brewing before the arrival of hops in the 1500s.

Tom Eveling, who manages the restaurant, says the reaction to the ‘beer flights’ has been very positive.

For more information, visit: www.kinloch-lodge.co.uk.

Restaurant La Carmagnole, Perpignan

This could not be more of a contrast to the Auberge de l'Ill, but is, nevertheless, a real find, for which we thank the same friends (Mary Ann and Neil) who recommended Le Petit Comptoir in Narbonne (see below). We have now been there twice and have decided we will time our future visits to Perpignan in order to return. Tucked away from the main hustle and bustle, but still in one of the old town's characterful, narrow streets, this is a small (26 covers), unassuming restaurant which is open for lunch only (till 3pm), except on Sundays. Inside, the walls are lined with old photos and prints, but also some rather lurid mosaic tiles, but the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. The menu, scrawled on a blackboard, consists of three starters, three mains, four 'tartes salees' (quiches) and four desserts. Perfectly acceptable wines (from Dom Brial) are served in carafes. Mains, including the quiches, served with salad, are 8.50 euros, but a main plus starter or dessert is a mere 11 euros. All the food is home-cooked (except for bread and ice cream) and simply delicious - just as bistro food should be. Remarkably, it is both cooked and served by the chef/owner - with no help whatsoever - and yet the service is speedy and efficient. On our last visit, we chose tagine de porc aux pruneaux et amandes (tagine of pork with prunes and almonds), a copious plate of tasty, tender pork, infused with a rich, red wine and cinnamon sauce and served with a generous portion of cous cous and lapin sauce moutarde (rabbit in a mustard sauce) which was again a generous portion of tender meat, served with a deliciously piquant sauce and a mash of potato and carrot. For pudding, we chose a tarte a la rhubarbe (rhubarb tart) and tarte aux amandes et au chocolat (almond and chocolate tart). I usually avoid pastry in restaurants, but had spotted that a neighbour's tarte salee looked as if it had a nice, thin crust, so took the plunge. The pastry was not only thin, but crisp and flavoursome. The rhubarb, set in a clafoutis-like filling, was nicely tart. The chocolate in the other tart was good quality and not too sweet and the pastry just as crisp and tasty.

With Ryanair reinstating its flights to Perpignan from Stansted in late March and flights there from other cities with FlyBe (times vary), this beautiful city makes a perfect, reasonably-priced destination for a long weekend.

La Carmagnole, 12 rue de la Revolution Francaise, 66000 Perpignan, tel: +33 4 68 35 44 46.

Alsace is Top Destination

I have always loved Alsace and was delighted to see that it had been just singled out by Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2010 as one of the top 10 regions in the world to visit.

Lonely Planet describes Alsace as a “mountainous, vine-ribboned region” and claims a “defining experience” would be “cycling among vineyards and wine cellars along the rural Route du Vin d’Alsace (Alsace Wine Route) one day and overdosing on city culture the next.” I am not sure I'd recommend cycling and wine tasting as a combined activity, but there is certainly a plethora (46) of well-signed wine trails in the vineyards, which are well worth following.

Apart from the appeal of its much-underrated wines, Alsace has, owing to the Vosges mountains, an enviably balmy and dry microclimate. It also has a surfeit of excellent restaurants, amongst which the Auberge de l'Ill at Illhaeusern - photo above - (www.auberge-de-l-ill.com) would certainly rank in my Top 10 eateries in the world.