I recently spent a week test driving the Acura RDX 2018 car around the city while I was out and about trying some new dishes and such at restaurants inside and outside of Vancouver.

Took a drive out to Surrey to visit Hugo’s Mexican Kitchen, located in the Clayton Heights neighbourhood, it is all about Mexican eats and drinks here where almost everything is made from scratch. I had a Horchata to start which was a perfect match to the complimentary tortilla chips with house-made salsas to tempt the tastebuds.

Enjoyed the tasty Sopesitos with 6 handmade chunky tortillas made of corn dough topped with mashed beans, crema, queso, salsa, and onions; The Enchiladas Rojas was another tasty dish with corn tortillas rolled up filled with beef and smothered in enchiladas red sauce served with Mexican rice and mashed beans. Finished with an order of their yummy and addictive vegan Churros, served with a cajeta dip on the side, do note this dip is not vegan and you can get it without the dip upon request.

Acura’s 3.5-liter V-6 at 279 horsepower and 252 pound-feet of torque. It shuttles power to either the front or all four wheels via a slick-shifting 6-speed automatic transmission that comes standard with paddle shifters. I loved its comfy front seats, good cargo space, and upscale feel, as I didn’t have any passengers in the rear seats I didn’t get a chance to hear about the rear seating comfortability.

Another great spot I visited was Grain Vegetarian Fare, a newly opened vegetarian restaurant located in East Vancouver on the edge of Burnaby. Here I had a healthy Buddha Bowl, along with a Mochi Cake and an Iced Americano.

A great new café opened recently in Kitsilano called Their There cafe, offering up coffee from Portland based Heart Roasters along with house-baked goodies, sandwiches and more. Here I had one of their yummy Matcha donuts along with an Iced Americano.

There are many food trucks in city centre of downtown Vancouver, I decided to check out one of the new ones.

Fried Chicken has been all the rage in Vancouver this year, one of the new food trucks to open is the Frypan Food Truck which specializes in Korean fried chicken. During the week they park at 505 Burrard Street serving up their lunch favourites to a long line-up of regulars. On the weekends you can find them at various breweries and farmers markets.

The Frying Pan’s signature item is the spicy fried chicken sandwich, the Korean food truck also serves up a slew of rice bowls, too, topped with your choice of chicken, bulgogi beef, or even fried teriyaki tofu.

I have had the Honey Garlic Jalapeños Chicken Burger a sweet and spicy burger on a soft bun with delicious fried chicken; with tasty crispy fries! This was a perfect combo with a refreshing ice cold lemonade.

With the advanced package the car has some great features including ventilated front seats, fog lights, auto-dimming exterior mirrors, remote start, and parking sensors. Advance models come standard with AcuraWatch, which is the brand’s trademark for a suite of safety tech: adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, forward collision warnings, lane departure warnings, and active lane control.

The Garden Strathcona Café in Strathcona is another new spot which opened recently, it is beautiful and spacious and one I look forward to visiting again. Coffee is by local Agro roasters, here I enjoyed a Cortado along with the Almond & Banana Toast on fife bakery sourdough.

Lastly to end my week exploring the city, I took a drive to West Vancouver to see the new location of Meinhardt Fine Foods. This is their third store in the Vancouver area, similar in size to their downtown Vancouver location, here they feature a fully stocked market, along with a deli serving hot and cold food, a pastry bar along with an ice cream and coffee bar; there is also a salad bar along with a flowers counter.

I really enjoyed the Acura RDX hardly used any gas with an end result of spending less to fuel up the car for the week, it was a great car to drive around Vancouver in the to try some great eateries.

By: Richard Wolak

Disclosure: Honda Canada provided me with the 2018 Acura RDX for a week to test drive, and photograph.