Stealthammer

If you develop your bike handling skills properly and concentrate on developing some finesse, you can do some amazing things on a road bike that a less skilled rider on a mountain bike would find excessively brutal. I generally don't climb stairs over two steps high on my road bike, but I will descend almost anything that I would on my commuter mountain bike without giving it much thought.

As far as curb hopping goes, at higher speeds it is a simple "bunny hop" and when done correctly it is no more brutal than what you will encounter just riding surface streets, and at slower speeds just lift the front wheel up over the curb and apply a little front brake just as it comes down on the sidewalk, and it will lift the rear wheel up and over the curb, allowing you to very gently place it down on the sidewalk without even hitting the curb with it.

That being said, for the use that you describe I would probably take the Cafe Sprint due to the more upright seating position, sloping top tube, Mini-V brakes, potentially greater tire clearance, $100 lower price, and otherwise comparable components package. I'd then put the $100 you save into some clipless pedals and 700x32/35/38 CX tires, but the Cafe Noir would also be in the running if I was going to ride it exclusively on-road.