Joe asked:
> ...what is really nice today in a production type
> frame of European flavor?
I think a lot of the Italian frames are "cookie cutter". Basso, DeBernardi, Casati, etc. look really similar to my eye. Heck, maybe they are even production-made "jobber" frames made by the same shop(s). Cinelli, DeRosa, Colnago, Bianchi, Guerciotti, Ciocc, etc. appear to be shadows of their former selves and seem to be living off their name. Plus, they don't offer much, if anything, in lugged steel frames. Don't know about other old marques like Pogliaghi, Bottechia, Gios, etc.
I believe Torelli has switched from lugged to mostly TIG frames for 2001-2. After my search for an Italian lugged steel frame, I ended up with a Mondonico that makes me really happy. It's plain jane (no chrome head lugs, no fancy lugwork, no chrome stays) with Brain OS tubing, but it's "traditional" enough in construction, materials and geometry for me and (supposedly) was hand-made rather than production-made. I think the Tommasini Sintesi and and Tecno are pretty spiffy and certainly not "cookie cutter" in the details (nice lugs and fork crowns). The Merckx, Mondonico and Tommasini lugged steel frames seem to hover around the same price points for given specifications.
Good luck... the hunt is always the most fun.
GG