Old Japanese lugged steel from the 80's.

Miyata, Univega, Fuji, Giant, Nishiki and some Ralieghs had lugged steel frames as good as anything French or Italian at the time.

In general, you get 12 or 14 speeds, good friction shifters on the downtubes, and exceptionally good brakes (the 25 year old Shimano Exage brakes on one of my fixed gear bikes work better than any other brakes I have)

If you are patient and shop around, you can find these bikes in good condition for <$250. Higher end models, like a Miyata Six-Ten might be more.

As time goes on, these bikes are entirely upgradeable if you wish to outfit them with fancy wheels, modern STI shifters and 9 speed derailleur systems. I actually did this to a Miyata One-Ten for which I paid $75. Now it's a fixed gear, but for a while it was running a full Shimano 105/Ultegra/Dura Ace groupset. I am as fast on this frame as I am on any other bike.