Dave Portnoy Offers Charles Barkley VIP Experience At One Bite Pizza Festival

Dave Portnoy is running it back with his popular One Bite Pizza Festival ... and the Barstool Sports founder tells TMZ Sports there's one guy he'd roll out the red carpet for at this year's event -- Charles Barkley.

We chopped it up with El Pres about the "greatest gathering of pizzerias" going down September 13 at Randall's Island Park in NYC ... and he raved about the lineup of eateries involved in the fun -- including Ceres, which he gave a rare >9 grade in one of his recent reviews.

Not only is there all the pizza folks can eat from spots like John's of Bleecker Street, Fortunate Son, Brooklyn Square and more than 30 others ... Portnoy said there will be a dessert village for attendees to enjoy.

The secret to the success?? Portnoy said the pies are served just like they would be in their home kitchen ... which is a detail that makes all the difference to true connoisseurs.

But as someone with a bunch of famous friends ... we had to ask who Portnoy would like to see at the big bash with Medium Rare come September -- and after some thought, he knew the guy who'd appreciate it the most.

"I'm always like a Charles Barkley fan," Portnoy said. "He's a little heavy. I assume he likes pizza. You don't weigh like that and not like pizza. So if he wants to come, he's got a free VIP ticket waiting for him."