High-end Latin cuisine has thrived in New York City long before the arrival of restaurants such as La Mar or Empellon. Rayuela on the Lower East Side has been around since 2006, though their freestyle Latino cuisine is being redefined by Dominican Republic born chef Alex Ureña.

You may remember Ureña from his highly regarded restaurant Ureña – it earned him “Two Stars” from The New York Times in 2007 – which was later changed to Pamplona and closed in 2009. After spending a few years as executive chef of Mesa Grill at The Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, Ureña is back at the forefront with his takes on the food of the Dominican Republic, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Cuba, and beyond. One of the standout dishes is the Conejo de la Abuela, a recipe for slow braised rabbit served with shitake mushrooms, caramelized apples, and creamy polenta that was inspired by his family. The name translates to: grandmother’s rabbit.

“The idea comes from my grandmother’s braised goat,” said Ureña. “She would marinade it over night then braise it. We ate this dish every Christmas, and served it with peas and rice.”

Conejo de la Abuela was on the menu at Pamplona and has been appearing in the Apertivos section of Rayuela’s menu for the past four months. The dish is one of Ureña’s more personal on the menu and it helps recall memories of his youth.

“What I remember most was that I got to sit next to my grandmother and she would to tell us how her grandmother made the same dish,” he said.

While rabbit is not typically thought of as a Latin American ingredient and rarely appears in New York’s Latin restaurants, it is not unheard of. It’s particularly common in recipes from rural areas in the region. In Venezuela there’s Conejo en Coco, a rabbit and coconut stew. In Peru, they eat Conejo en Adobo, where the rabbit is sliced and served in a spicy ají chile based sauce. In Mexico, usually in Puebla, rabbit is cooked with red mole and sometimes stuffed inside enchiladas.

“I use rabbit instead of goat, because I like to cook with rabbit,” he said. “It’s not common on many menus.”

At Rayuela, Ureña’s rabbit is quickly becoming one of the most popular dishes on the dinner menu.