After months of research and saving, I have narrowed down my choice for a new bike to the surly pacer or the salsa casseroll. I was looking for a steel frame/steel fork/drop bar bike that could take a wide range of tires since I just moved to Northern California and I would like to take advantage of the wonderful and varied bike trails out here. I visited lots of very patient LBSs and test road everything from cyclocross bikes to touring bikes to road bikes, basically all of the usual suspects I saw recommended in my search of these forums.
Now I've got it down to these two bikes and I can't quite decide which one to spend my hard earned money on! I want a bike that will be fast and fun up and down moderate hills on the weekend that will still take a rear rack, 28-32mm tires, and handle errands around the city and an occasional 20 mile commute to work.

Salsa Pros:
Wider tires, front and rear rack braze-ons, triple, rides like a cadillac at low speeds

Cons:
Feels just a bit sluggish to get up to a fast pace and its more upright geometry makes me feel like I should be touring at low speeds rather then trying to keep up with my roadie friends on the hills and bike paths.

Surly Pros:
Feels faster and handles more like a road bike. Will still take a rear rack and the 28-32mm tires.

Cons:
No triple (I've never ridden a compact double before), $150 more expensive then the casseroll.

So, does anyone have any advice on which bike I should choose based on my needs? Ideally one day I would like to have two bikes, one commuter and one road bike but for now I have to find the best possible balance.

Thanks so much if you read the whole post and especially if you have a chance to chime in.

I've owned a Casseroll for a year, riding 4,000+ miles on it, but have never ridden a Pacer. The Casseroll makes a great all-around bike for commuting, light touring, recreational riding, etc., but I cannot heartily endorse it for trail riding. Altho it will handle larger tires, the rear dropouts are horizontal and rather fragile -- as I found out when I rode my bike on the New River Trail last summer. The frame handled 32 mm cross tires just fine and the bike rode great on the trail, but the rear dropout got totally mangled when a stick got caught in the derailleur. Perhaps any bike would have suffered similar damage, but I have heard of two other instances of the same thing happening with other Casserolls brought into local bike shops. Most cross bikes have rather stout vertical dropouts, or replaceable derailleur hangers. So, if you intend to ride trails, I would recommend looking for a cross frame. Also check out the Surley Crosscheck and Soma Doublecross.

It's probably down to personal preferences at this point. I'd want to see if I could get the LBS to swap over a triple crank and shifters on the Pacer. I'm not a big fan of compact cranksets for commuting. They work pretty well for road riding, where you can get to a good cruising speed and stay there, or for cyclocross, where you hardly ever need really big gears, but for commuting I find that I'm constantly shifting between the big and little rings (or giving up and cross-chaining with the big ring). Depending on your hill climbing ability and the hills you face, you might be able to make it work with a 36T ring.I love the "Sparkleboogie Blue" on the Pacer, and it has a nice set of components.

Thanks so much for the input on the Casseroll and also on the compact double.
I have to admit that the compact double is my biggest concern about the Pacer. I'd call myself a mid-level rider in that I can definitely power up short, steep hills or get up to a fast pace on the flats even on my single speed.
However, I really would rather not be struggling on the longer more gradual inclines I expect to encounter on my rides. I have no idea how a compact double handles hills.
The LBS said it would cost about $200 to change to a triple. That brings the bike to $1500, well over my budget!

Andy_K, the blue on the Pacer looks even better in person! It really is a lovely bicycle.

I've got the cross-check and like it a lot. Not sure on the geometry of the Pacer but why not go with the brazons and canti-studs that give you complete versatility on or off road?

A compact double actually does pretty well on hills. I've got a 46/34 on my commuter with a 12-30 cassette. With a bit of struggle the 34x30 gear gets me up a short hill that maxes out at a 20% grade (though it's only a quarter of a mile). For longer but less steep climbs I wouldn't need a gear that low. The stock 34x28 low gear on the Pacer is about the same as the 30x25 low gear that you'd find on many bikes with a triple. The Casseroll, however, has a 26T small ring which gets you very, very low. That's definitely a touring kind of gear, like dragging 50 pounds of gear up a mountain pass.

The thing I don't like about the compact gearing is that to avoid cross chaining with a 34T small ring you have to shift to the big ring at about 15 mph. On my commute, I'm going from stopped to >15mph all the time. Since the Casseroll has a 36T middle gear, it probably wouldn't be a whole lot different in typical commuting use. It would be cheap to swap a 36T gear onto the Pacer if you found you didn't need the lowest gearing.

I've got a 50-34 compact double on Casseroll and love it for commuting. My route is very hilly and the gearing is perfect for my purposes

Go with the Salsa, that looks like a great bike. Nice low gearing (50-12 is higher than I ever need, personally), Tiagra drivetrain, steel, really nice price. I guess it's not "aggressive", but it will be really nice for commuting, and if you want to keep up with fast people, that's all in the legs. Get down on the drops and I'm sure you'll be plenty aggressive. Plus, you can even load that thing up with front panniers and tour with it. Wow.

Thats really helpful info on compact doubles. It sounds like I need to decide if I want a smaller ring "just in case." I think I will go back to the bike shops and see if I can go on longer test rides with both bikes. I may even ride the cross check one more time just to make things harder on myself. Thanks!

IMHO - select the bike that fits you better & don't worry so much about the components. I was very much leaning toward the pacer, i rode both pacer and casseroll. casseroll's geometry was a better fit for my needs, i ended up getting a soma smoothie es - liked the fit and feel best among them.

You guys have been so helpful that I thought I should update the post for the benefit of future searchers. My bike search ended a little abruptly when my lbs called me up on Sunday morning to let me know that they had a 2010 Redline Conquest Classic in my size and at a great sale price. I went right over and picked it up and I love it! It came with a triple crank, steel frame/fork, plenty of braze-ons and tire clearance as well as full 105/tiagra components. I went for a 20 mile ride this morning and it felt great. I've never used disc brakes before so that will take some getting used to.
I think this bike as it is set up will be a wonderful commuter. Its definitely not a lightweight "fast" bike but it still offers a fun and relaxed, comfortable ride. I can see myself being in the market for a true road bike in the next year or so just to have the best of both worlds. I liked the fit of the Surly Pacer so much that I may even be interested in building it up with some lightweight components to use as my fast bike.
(edited to acknowledge that the stock Pacer is already pretty light for a steel frame...)

I've got a Pacer (2011 model) and it is the most comfortable bike I have risen. It's
does not have real aggressive geometry but it's still quick and very nimble. Road vibration
is at a minimum especially with the 28's that I have on.