I would recomend the Jake as well
I just purchased a Kona Jake about a week ago, and let me tell you, I think its an awesome bike, I was pretty much in your situation, I wanted a Cross Bike, but didnt want to spend a whole lot of money on it, so I purchased the jake. Very nice for the cost. Everything I wanted. You can check the Kona site, and it will list all of the dealers in the area, very helpful, thats how I found my bike shop