I second the Jamis Coda. I bought one for $400.00 as my "second" bike. While it feels heavy to me, compared to my super light road bike, I love riding it. It carries panniers well and I use it to do errands all of the time. I got the "femme" version and it actually came in a size small enough to fit me.
Not a lot of shops carry Jamis bikes and I always get compliments on it when I have it locked p outside of the coffee shop!