Jon, I'm not sure where you are writing from.
Let's see... The typical ingredients in Argentine cuisine include wheat flour, fresh corn, dried white corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, calabaza (butternut squash), zapallo criollo (a less sweet variety of squash), mandioca (cassava), peppers (both bell and field varieties), tomatoes, garlic, beans, lentils, spinach, Swiss chard, zapallito redondo (a sweeter and tastier type of zucchini), and celery. Common proteins are eggs, chicken, beef, pork, lamb, goat, and offal (such as mondongo, tripa, cuajo, chinchulines, heart, kidney, liver, brains, and criadillas), and a diverse array of wild game. These days a lot more cheese is added to dishes (this trend is also observed in Asia, which is another discussion).
CABA is not at all representative of typical Argentine food. Generations of Porteños have grown up eating French, Italian, and Spanish (not Hispanic) cuisine, and they prefer these Southern European flavors. However, as you venture beyond CABA and further into Buenos Aires province, you'll encounter more
cocina criolla, which blends native ingredients with culinary traditions brought by Spanish conquistadors.
Argentina is a country of immigrants but not like the States or Canada, and this is reflected in its gastronomy. The type of Asian and Mexican food we enjoy in Canada and the States is not found here or in Europe. Personally, I appreciate this, as Argentina has excellent food and quality ingredients, which do not have to taste like other countries' food.
But I digress...
I'll leave you a list of typical foods that can be found in CABA (yesterday I mentioned in
another thread a couple of restaurants that serve them):
Revuelto gramajo
Picada (in the provinces it has different ingredients)
Locro
Buseca
Carbonada criolla
Torta pascualina
Humita en olla
Jigote catamarqueño
Mbaipy
Vizcacha en escabeche
Matambre
Vitel Toné
Chanfaina burguillana
Tomaticán
Chipá
Choripán