Can chef Brad Race make food the focal point at racy Claudia’s Steakhouse?

The forthcoming Claudia's Steakhouse, which has garnered attention mostly for its racy, sexualized marketing, is shoring up its culinary bona fides: Chef Brad Race, formerly of Minibar, Bearnaise and Le Cirque, will head the kitchen when the 300-seat restaurant near 15th and K streets NW opens later this spring.

Race is certainly suited for a steakhouse gig after working as the executive chef of the steak frites-focused Bearnaise. At Claudia's, he's working on developing a menu with a Latin bent, featuring dishes such as empanadas, mojarra frita, chorizo hot dogs and, yes, a "Negra Modelo Drunken Rib-Eye.”

He'll have some tough competition in the neighborhood, with nearby Rural Society and Mio offering Latin flavors, and expense-account steakhouse Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab. Claudia's is not the first "sexy steakhouse" in the market: "Not Your Daddy's Steakhouse" STK is less than a mile away.

Claudia's Steakhouse, 1501 K St. NW (Metro: McPherson Square).