Hey Everybody: thanks for the continuing input and discussion. Based on some continued solo research and this discussion, I've managed an updated and expanded list of options:

• Surly -- Flat-bar crosscheck
• Fairdale -- Weekend Archer
• Swobo -- Fillmore 8
• Jamis -- Coda (series)
• Breezer -- Café (series)
• All-city -- Pony Express
• Handsome -- Devil (city 8)
• Planet x -- Kaffenback
• Kona -- Dew (series)
• Masi -- Strada Vida (series)
• Marin -- Muirwoods

I'm in the somewhat unfortunate position that my new home is a bit under covered by bike retailers, so I may end up having to drive a couple of hours to buy. This does give a few points to some of the companies that do ship direct, but I don't want that to be the deciding factor.

As I do more research, I'm feeling more and more strongly that canti/direct or disc brakes or a must. The only thing that's better than going on a bike is stopping on a bike, and I'd like to do that adroitly. Disc brakes are a bit unexplored territory for me. I've been a pavement rider all my life, and have never owned a bike with disc brakes. Hydraulic disc brakes seem a little intimidating to me because they're outside my range of experience in terms of maintenance. Cable (mechanical?) disc brakes seem intimidating, but whenever I think of cabled disc brakes, I think of my mountain biking friends mocking them relentlessly as a concept when I was in high school, but that was in 1998, so I'd have to imagine they've improved since then.