We. had this discussion on this forum YEARS ago. People were talking about traveling a couple hours on buses and trains to get basic ingredients to make what should be readily available in supermarkets. I suspect the very same advocates of dedicating your life to finding half way decent foo are no longer in Argentina.
I still live here, have for 12 years. In the city of Buenos Aires I've never had to travel hours by bus/subway to find amazing food (dine out or cook at home). I've found exact ingredients or close substitutes for all the recipes I've ever wanted to try and make far more from scratch, so also eat healthier because there isn't so much processed/prepared food in my diet, I trade in some convenience but eat far better here than I did back home.
My local panadería has great sourdough and pastries, local butcher? Great cuts of meat, there's an Argentina cheese I love-sharp enough for me (Queso La Suerte). Fresh and varied veg and herbs at the nearby verdulería. Yogurt (thicker and greek style), sauces, condiments etc...at the organic store three blocks away (now with a million types of peanut butter, tahini, pita bread, farm fresh eggs, couscous, quinoa, ground cardamom and curry packets). These sorts of shops are popping up on nearly every corner of busier neighborhoods now.
You can position yourself to never have to leave your neighborhood if you choose your location wisely. What ingredients are people traveling hours on buses and trains to gather? Where do they live? Surely not in the city? I'll have to search that thread but anywhere in the world, people who live outside a city center have a harder time fulfilling those needs. Even the larger cities have food deserts, where people can't find fresh fruit/veg and the like and subsist of processed and low quality fare.
I've had so many amazing meals here from local chefs — some of the best I've had in my life, and I lived in what people would consider 'culinary' cities my whole life and worked in fine dining. I'm no slouch and, while there are obvious duds here (like anywhere), I'm not on the hate train. I can't be convinced as I'm not missing any foods or grocery stores from the U.S. at all. But it's all relative, in the end. But i implore people to take a day and find their local haunts instead of taking a train hours away.
As a recent observation on a trip back the the U.S.: The fruit (at an upscale grocer in a fancy suburb) tasted fake, for lack of a better word. The avocados, bananas and blueberries were so strange to me after eating fruit in season here. So, I guess it's just preference but I was so glad to get back here where the fruit I get tastes like fruit and isn't flavorless with an odd texture. The fruit and veg there was bizarre and I've had friends up there mention the change as well. So, to each their own.