I'm a big fan of sessionable beers that mimic bigger beers.
I call mine an XPA (Extra Pale Ale)
I shoot for the low end of AIPA or APA.
[BJCP: OG=1.50, FG=1.010, IBU=40, SRM=8, ABV=5%].
[BJCP: OG=1.045, FG 1.010, IBU=30, SRM=5, ABV=4.5%].
It won't win any BJCP competitions, but, I guarantee you that a 5 gallon keg will empty in one night at a party.
For smoother bitterness, I'd make sure your sulfate levels in the water are low (<50 ppm)--but that's something you might want to have Martin chime in on. For the floral/fruity styles, I find Summit, Admiral to be good choices. Magnum gives clean bittering.
For fruity/citrusy flavor and aroma: Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Amarillo, Simcoe are all good choices. I like to combine small fractions of each hop and add them every 5-10 minutes from 20-30 minutes on down to flame out. It gives more complexity.
For excellent aroma (that will somewhat survive CO2 scrubbing during fermentation), I find adding at least one or two ounces for steeping during whirlpool/chilling (once the wort temp gets below 170F) really kicks it up a bit without the excessive grassiness of dryhopping.
Dryhopping is nice, too but is usually accompanied by the grassiness and diminished clarity that some don't want. Use at least one ounce per 5 gallons to have a noticeable effect. Again, I add small fractions of each hop (e.g., 0.5 oz each of Cascade, Citra, Amarillo, Summit, and Simcoe) to increase complexity.
Malt is basically pale ale malt and crystal, with a little victory, carafoam, honey malt, or aromatic malt as good choices for specialty kilned malts.