What are Nouns and how did they own Nouns Deli in the old Stans Deli site on Glenferrie Road?

The breakfast muffin I’m eating is real. If it isn’t, how is there spicy mayo running down my arm? The self-serve soft-serve must exist, too. Otherwise, how did that little kid just swirl frozen Milo into a cup?

What’s not so easy to grasp is that this hip, friendly fast-food shop is the product of a virtual community called Nouns. I find the concept hard to understand but I’ve done a lot of work (that is, eaten a lot of sandwiches at Nouns Deli) to hold the information in my brain for longer than 30 seconds. So here goes … and stay with me, because we’ll all end up happy, with real burgers in our hands.

The former Stan’s Deli site is now a real-world expression of Nounishness.

Nouns is a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO), which you could think of as an online collective where people have names such as 0x4754b7e3 instead of Jane or Jack. Every day since August 2021, Nouns has computer-generated a cute pixelated character.

This little guy – or gal, or fox, or pirate – is an NFT but don’t get hung up on that. These daily creations are auctioned off, with bids made in Ethereum, a cryptocurrency. The funds go into a treasury: over time, the kitty has built to about 5768 ethereum, or $32 million. Anyone can put in a proposal to get a slice of that pie, with success dependent on the votes of Nouns owners.

The vibe is indie, arty and good-spirited, so successful applications have included funding reading glasses for underprivileged children, an a cappella choir’s Christmas song recording, travel for extreme skateboarders and this little place in Melbourne, which received $300,000 to turn the popular Stan’s Deli into a real-world expression of Nounishness.

You don’t need to engage with any of that to eat here. The menu is an easy mix of American-style sandwiches and burgers.

Muffin Top is an excellent rip-off of a McMuffin, made with wobbly sheet-pan omelette, herbed beef patty, sweet zucchini pickles and American cheese. Oh, and the chilli kewpie that’s now made it to my elbow.

Chicago-style Deli Beef roll is made with juicy slices of meat loved up with ale-cooked onions; dunk the roll in gravy for more joy.

A classic cheeseburger has fine dining touches from chef Prakasit “Noon” Sammasit, who worked for the same owners at Leonard’s House of Love. The bun is brushed with tarragon butter and the burger sauce includes yuzu kosho, a spicy citrus paste.

All too much? The salad sandwich is clean, fresh and loaded with veg.

Nouns DAO is open source, which means no secrets and no copyright. That’s embraced here: all the recipes will be shared. There are also plans to submit proposals for Nounish good works in the food world.

Want a burger with a side of great ideas? Give me this one with the lot.