At these Kansas City restaurants, lemonade makes summer a whole lot sweeter

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Sweet and tart, lemonade refreshes and refuels during the hot, sticky summer months, but it’s a popular favorite all year long.

References to lemonade date back to the 12th century, yet this fresh-squeezed treat is frequently reimagined in modern flavors, offers a taste of different cultures, and reclaims the innocence of youth (you can still find new generations of kids hawking the homemade refreshment to their neighbors and friends with roadside stands).

We’ll take you on a lemonade tour of Kansas City, and introduce you to some of the best places around town to grab a refreshing drink.

The tangy treat that’s hard to beat

We think of lemonade as American as apple pie, but the drink originated across the world, where sugar cane and lemons grew native, first documented in the Middle East and then making its way to Europe by the 16th century.

A citrus flavored drink exists in many cultures, like the Vietnamese salty lemonade, called “chanh muoi,” the creamy Brazilian lemonade “limonada Suíça” (available at Fogo de Chão, which also serves a pineapple mint lemonade), or minty Turkish “limonata.”

Lemonade came to the United States by the 1700s (citrus fruits were standard fare for long ocean voyages to prevent scurvy), was advertised in the pre-Revolution colonies (it was also apparently a favorite drink of King George III) and, after the war, served by the Washingtons at the presidential residence.

The drink was available in Kansas City at least by the mid-19th century. In 1881, The Kansas City Times devoted an entire column extolling the virtues of lemonade — ”the summer beverage that everybody in Kansas City takes to” — as an option for prohibition laden Kansans. That article estimates that over 34,000 glasses were consumed a day in the city.

Kansas City still loves its lemonade — as seen in Lemonade Park, an outdoor music venue that has become a staple of the summer music scene in the last four years. It emerged from the turmoil of the global pandemic, when COVID-19 shut down businesses throughout the metro.

At first just a flatbed truck in an empty West Bottoms lot, it’s now a sought-after performance space, and has been a key location for the annual festival Make Music Kansas City. (And yes, lemonade is served at the bar, along with food prepared at next door Voltaire.)

Kansas City’s best lemonades

From a simple base — lemon juice, water, and sugar — there are hundreds of variations.

Switch out the lemon for lime: enjoy a piquant limeade. Squeeze lemon juice into icy sugar water, toss the juiced rinds in and shake it up: you’ve got the Lemon Shake-Up, a staple of the carnival and county fair. Infuse vodka with lemon peel and add simple syrup: limoncello has arrived at the party. (Kansas City’s own saxophonist supreme Bobby Watson was inspired to write this tune from his appreciation for the popular drink.)

Other popular varieties include pink (sometimes made with fruit juices like raspberry or strawberry, others just with coloring), carbonated (popular in other parts of the world, but also available in a variety of lemon-lime sodas), and mixed with iced tea, AKA the Arnold Palmer.

Many places around Kansas City have their own version of classic, fresh-squeezed lemonade, but if you thirst for a fancier option, local restaurants and bars introduce flavors from around the world. Here are a few:

Hospital Hill brunch spot Succotash is regularly mentioned by KCUR’s Up To Date. You can accompany your pork hash or pancakes with their seasonal lemonades, which are updated frequently. Coming up, they’ll offer heirloom tomato lemonade, watermelon limeade, and raspberry hibiscus lemonade.

Elixir, the soda fountain at the Kansas City Museum, serves up a sophisticated option with their “garden lemonade”: crushed ice, muddled mint, lemon juice, lavender syrup, a sweet and salty rim, and sparkling water.

Café Cà Phê, in Columbus Park, has “Summer Moments,” a line of citrus-infused drinks with innovative flavor combinations: dragon fruit and mango; chrysanthemum tea, longan, and ginger; ceylon tea, longan and limeade.

Blue Sushi Sake Grill, in Westwood, has three fancifully flavored options: Coco Hydration (coconut water and strawberry), Dragon fruit lemonade, and the Hibiscus squeeze.

Local favorite McLain’s Bakery + Markets offers homemade lemonade year round, as well as seasonal flavors. Each location crafts their own style of “special sips,” with options like Z’Green Lavender Lemonade, with matcha (Overland Park), and Berry Creamsicle Lemonade, with a blackberry sage cold foam (Waldo).

If you want to change things up every time you visit, Baba’s Pantry adds a twist to their “Lemonade of the Day,” featuring flavors like cucumber mint, tropical punch, guava, and more.

Jerusalem Café, with three locations (Westport, Independence, and Liberty), serves a minty fresh lemonade as well as a frozen version.

Dragonfly Tea Zone has three lemonade flavors and two limeades, plus you can add boba or flavored popping pearls for a customized order.

Aladdin Café, on 39th Street, has a rose lemonade, with rosewater and saffron, which pairs nicely with lamb dishes and their popular lentil soup.

At Q39, you can find a zero-proof “Berry G Basil Lemonade” with strawberry, basil, lemon juice, and simple syrup.

While lemonade is an inspiriting NA option (learn more about those with KCUR’s mocktails Adventure), hard lemonades are also popular, including Boulevard Brewing Company’s Vodka Lemonade from their line of canned craft cocktails and Hibiscus Lemonade from their Quirk hard seltzer line.

Lemonade is also a go-to cocktail ingredient, like with Jack Stack BBQ’s “KC Lemonade”: lemonade and blackberry syrup mixed with either J. Reiger’s KC Whiskey or Vodka.

Readymade ‘ade

If you aren’t in the mood to make your own lemonade, try some of the readily available options at local retailers.

James’ Lemonade, made in Kansas City, Kansas, was started in 1998 by James Anderson. The drink has a “hint of mint” and can be found around town at delis, bodegas, liquor stores, and area Quik Trips. (The product line includes James’ Fruit Punch and James’ Spiked Lemonade.)

Ruby Jean’s Juicery, on Troost Avenue and the 51st Street Whole Foods, serves RJ’s Lemonade. Ruby Jean’s mission is to serve healthy options, so their drink is sweetened with honey and flavored with mint.

Though known for their apple ciders, during spring and summer Louisburg Cider Mill makes lemonades in three flavors: old fashioned, strawberry, and blueberry, available at the Country Store and area retailers.

You can also buy lemonade to help a good cause each June during the annual Midwest Lemonade Days, a fundraiser for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) for Childhood Cancer, a partnership with area Hy-Vee grocery stores.