1. Verbena
What do you get when two talented chefs (Diane Forley and Michael Otsuka) with different cooking styles meet, marry, and become kitchen mates? For one, you get Yuzu lemonade. The fragrant Japanese citrus raises this slightly effervescent concoction to a whole other level. (54 Irving Place; 212-260-5454; $3.50.)
2. City Bakery
For pucker-uppers: Maury Rubin’s superbly tart and tangy lemonade makes for leisurely summertime sipping. Plus wonderfully weird flavors, from vanilla bean to cilantro. (3 West 18th Street; 212-366-1414; $2–$3.)
3. Keens Steakhouse
The testosterone-charged home of more than 170 single-malt scotches also makes the best limeade in town. It’s tall, cool, delicately sweet, and worth any snickers from those tablemates less secure in their masculinity. (72 West 36th Street; 212-947-3636; $3.)
4. Pyramida
The trick to this exquisite, frothy-topped, almost creamy Middle Eastern–style lemonade is to toss everything – sugar, water, ice, and unpeeled sliced lemons – into the blender, releasing all that lemon oil and fabulous flavor. (401 East 78th Street; 212-472-5855; $2.50.)
5. Hampton Chutney Co.
A splash of orange-blossom water gives this lemonade a fragrant bouquet, a subtle, complex flavor, and, as demonstrated here, may scarily inspire you to talk about lemonade the way wine geeks talk about wine. (68 Prince Street; 212-226-9996; $3.50.)