"So what web framework are we supposed to use now?"

Flippant answer: Whatever works

Pointed answer: I am paid to write RoR apps. When I need to get stuff done at home I use Perl, if it's for the web I recommend Dancer[1], which was inspired by (i.e. nicked from[2]) Sinatra[3].

I've found MVC to be a little bit too much architecture and scaffolding for many tasks.

edit: Not to say I don't want an architecture, but the routes and templating of Dancer are the essentials. Occasionally I will find myself missing the bloody lovely validations in Rails' ActiveRecord, but I am usually grateful for the light weight of the finished product and the fact that the entirety of it fits in my head when building with Dancer.

[1] http://perldancer.org/

[2] ;)

[3] http://www.sinatrarb.com/