The ravenous culprit was apparently uninterested in the $200 that was left in the cash register.

“He just wanted food, that’s it,” said an incredulous Detective Robert Francaviglia. “He went in and pulled out a plate, got some chicken out of the freezer, got a rice box and fried up the chicken and rice in the frying pan. After he ate, he left.”

The burglar entered the Broadway Avenue restaurant early Saturday morning by breaking an exhaust fan at the rear of the store and climbing in through the hole, said officials. Nobody saw him enter and nothing else was taken besides the food to make the chicken and rice dinner.

A similar incident occurred in Hillsdale last year at the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in which someone entered, cooked food and left. “It could be related,” said Francaviglia. “It could be a homeless person looking for food.”

Hillsdale officials noted that the borough has a food pantry for needy residents and the borough nurse is on call for those in need of a hot meal.