KANSAS CITY — Ethnic cuisine is in high demand, but those foreign flavors don’t necessarily have to come from other countries. Restaurants are inviting customers to travel with their taste buds by offering menu items that feature flavors from different regions all over the United States.

McAlister’s Deli is providing the cuisine of Kentucky with its new menu item, the Turkey Hot Brown. It features Butterball smoked turkey, applewood smoked bacon, tomatoes and green onions piled on top of toasted country white bread and served with Kentucky Hot Brown Gravy.

“We’re excited to announce our new Kentucky-inspired entrée, the Turkey Hot Brown,” said Donna Josephson, vice-president of global marketing for McAlister’s. “We are happy to bring this regional favorite to our guests.”

Johnny Rockets is delivering the flavors found along Route 66 with its three new sandwiches: from Chicago, the Big Pastrami Pretzel Burger, from the Midwest, the Heartland Veggie Boca Burger, and from the West coast, the California BLT Avocado Chicken Sandwich.

Krispy Kreme hopes to transport its customers to the South with its Southern Classic donuts inspired by classic Southern desserts: the Peach Pie Doughnut and the Lemon Kreme Cake Doughnut. The Peach Pie Doughnut is stuffed with peach pie filling and topped with white icing, pie crust crumbles and a peach flavored drizzle. The Lemon Kreme Cake Doughnut, a lemon flavored cake donut, features a rosette of lemon-infused crème filling in the center and a cake crumble and powdered sugar topping.

Click for a slideshow of more new menu items