It was a short story by Somerset Maugham called The Luncheon that was based in Paris, and it was being read in class when I was in middle school. It was the first time I heard about asparagus. The author while entertaining a guest at a restaurant is nervous about the cost of food his guest is ordering, especially those items not listed on the menu when the asparagus is described as being plump, tender and probably very expensive. Sure enough, I remember wondering what asparagus looked like and how it tasted.
