Madame Romaine de Lyon

Madame Romaine de Lyon was a small, popular French restaurant in New York City for 65 years, starting in the 1940s. It was located first on East 56th Street and later in a townhouse on East 61st Street. It offered 500 types of omelettes, as well as some salads and soups. The owner and master omelette chef, Romaine Champion, emigrated to the USA from Lyon, France in 1938 to join her husband, who had come to establish himself in the silk trade. He died shortly after, and she supported herself by opening a small tea room and pastry shop, then began making the omelettes she had learned to prepare in her native city. She first published her cookbook The Art of Cooking Omelettes in 1963; Julia Child recommended it on her television cooking show. Madame Romaine de Lyon also was featured in Life Magazine in the April 6, 1953 issue in the article "Eight Ways to Glorify Eggs."