Cloning is apparently now legal in the restaurant business.

When Michael Del Pietro announced that he would open a restaurant in Chesterfield, the initial reports were that he would partially replicate his very successful Sugo's in Frontenac.

And he did change the name, calling the new place Babbo's.

Babbo's differs from its twin only by offering a namesake pizza with sausage, caramelized onions and a balsamic glaze that isn't on the menu at Sugo's, and by not baking Sugo's Sicilian-style pizzas.

I imagined simply reprinting my Sugo's review from a year and a half ago and changing the restaurant's name. But it isn't quite as simple as that.

Sugo's has a smattering of restaurants nearby, but Babbo's is smack in the middle of the restaurant-dense Chesterfield Valley, competing against a legion of deep-pocket chains as well as some well-established local names.

That means that good service has a premium value and, except for one flaw — take away the olive pits from our appetizer when you deliver our entrees, please — the young staff at Babbo's was exceptionally welcoming and worked together almost seamlessly.

The model, in case you know nothing about Sugo's, is a $10 price point for pasta and Neapolitan-style pizzas, with a relative splurge of $14 for pasta tutto mare and daily chicken, veal and fish specials. The atmosphere combines elements of a rustic farmhouse with orange and red walls and an unfinished, exposed black ceiling.

Tutto mare includes four or five medium shrimp and a small handful of clams, although I found only scant evidence of advertised crab meat. The seafood flavor, however, permeated the pasta through a sauce based on shrimp stock.

Veal parmigiana avoids the frequent local temptation to overpound the cutlets and was made quite lively by rich red tomatoes.

Babbo's pizza is an irregular oval with a crisp, irregular crust and full-bodied flavor from the balsamic vinegar and caramelized onions — more than enough for a hearty appetite.

Funghi pasta includes a sizable portion of button and portobello mushrooms filled out by spinach flavored with mellow roasted garlic.

An appetizer of cheese and marinated olives ($5) is a shareable portion of various olives along with thick shavings of Parmesan and a moderate crumbling of Gorgonzola.

Del Pietro salad ($5) is a relatively standard version of the local iceberg-based Italian-American salad, although the dressing is neither overly sweet nor overly applied.

One of my few criticisms of Sugo's was the lack of a budget wine; both restaurants now offer house wines for $6 a glass and $14 for a half-liter carafe. I'd still like to see something at the $5 price point. On the other end, I'm wondering who goes to a value-priced spaghetteria and drops 122 bucks for a Brunello.

The basic model for the two restaurants, however, is perfect for the times — and another worthwhile, locally owned alternative in the Chesterfield Valley.

žœ 17402 Chesterfield Airport Road, Chesterfield Valley • 636-536-0000 • babbosspaghetteria.com • Menu: A relatively short list of pastas and Neapolitan-style pizzas, all $10 and under, plus $14 daily chicken, veal and fish plates • Smoking: No • Hours: Lunch, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday; dinner, 5-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday