I think the complaining about prices comes from watching them go up, like as you speak. For example, the past few restaurants i've gone to have had the prices on the paper to go menus scratched out or with stickers over them, even though you can tell they were printed within the past few months. Also, since the argentines complain about rising prices, its something you can do to make conversation with people.
In terms of rising prices, eating out in restaurants or going to clubs here is cheaper than in NYC, hands down, and going out to NICE restaurants is cheaper than in Washington DC. What BA lacks are the cheap, ethnic places where you can get a HUGE and good meal for USD $4.00 or less and enjoy indian food or mexican food or asian food... sigh. Its just because there are less immigrants here i suppose.
Also, I have noticed that while going OUT or eating steak is cheaper, grocery bills are identical or bigger. For example, a bag of fresh ravioli at the store in BA is about 12-14 pesos in the cheap places, and fresh pasta in my old grocery store in dc was 3.50 a bag. Also, vegetables are similarly priced and of pretty ratty quality. Spinach and arugula are a LITTLE cheaper, but they come caked in mud so you have to spend about 30 minutes trying to get all the dirt off before eating, so i'd rather pay the american price and eat it right away. A can of beans here costs over 4 pesos, and they are smaller than their US counterparts, which usually cost about 80 cents. Thats a big difference, especially if you eat a lot of beans and vegetables.
Finally, quality pots and pans or knives, furniture, or any other necessity of LIVING (ahem, furnishing an apartment???) are INSANELY more expensive. I want a big heavy pan. In the US, you can buy a big iron pan at walmart for 20 bucks. In carrefour, the biggest pan was smaller, NOT made of iron, and cost 140 pesos. Thats insane.
In sum, in terms of traveling and temporary living (like in a furnished apartment, and going out to eat all the time), BA is comparatively really really really cheap. If you are digging in and living here, so attempting to eat healthy fresh meals at home that aren't made out of cows, and furnishing your place and buying clothes and blenders and stereos and things like that, BA is more expensive. But that is balanced by rent and being able to go out more and use public transport.
In sum - i love this city, but it has a skewed economy. Cheap beef at restaurants and low rent, but wildly expensive kitchen knives and pants. I just wish the cost of living surveys included things like common household goods, not just going out for dinner.
ps - if anyone knows a place to get a quality REALLY BIG iron pan, please tell me.
