Thomas K.
Yelp
I grew up in southern Missouri and lived/worked around Springfield for years ... so when I hit town to visit family a couple of years ago, cashew chicken was much on my mind. It's hard to find outside of that area and I crave it about once a month
My brother and I went driving around -- we've both been away long enough to not really know Springfield well any more -- and Cashew Station was the first place we saw where we could obviously get the good stuff. Four things:
1) The food is GOOD. It's as good as any cashew chicken I've had anywhere. Not too gloppy, just crispy fried chicken with cashews, green onions and the right amount of oyster sauce to bring out the flavors (I haven't tried the other main dishes).
2) The food is CHEAP. For about five bucks a person (we were ordering for a large family group) we got hefty servings of cashew chicken with fried rice and wonton or egg roll (IIRC, there was a choice). The crab rangoon was decent as well.
3) The food is FAST AND CONVENIENT. This restaurant used to be a Burger Station, one of the first chains in Springfield to have double drive-thrus (driver or passenger side). There was little or not wait to order and only a very short wait for the food.
4) The people are NICE. Service with a smile and a friendly word is always a big plus.
I've been back in town twice since then and haven't bothered looking for another place to get cashew chicken. From looking at Yelp, I see some of my old favorites up on the north side are still open, but when I'm in town these days it's generally mostly south of Battlefield, so Cashew Station is both convenient and as good as those others ever were.
My brother and I will be visiting our mom again in May and Cashew Station is already on the agenda. Good, good stuff.